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On the Sunday Morning Coffeepot: The Most Influential Writer You've Probably Never Heard Of
When Barack Obama repeatedly hit the theme of Fairness during the recent campaign, it resonated with people in the middle of hard economic times. The libertarian and right side of the country never offered an effective counter to this meme, which appears to have taken them by surprise. It shouldn't have. Liberal political thought has been steeped for several decades in a worldview around justice, fairness and equality of outcome vs. equality of opportunity whose premises were laid by the most influential political philosopher you've probably never heard of. John Rawls died in 2002. His work isn't cited in court decisions and few today ascribe to the details of his positions. Yet he plowed the ground and planted the seeds that bore fruit last November and 4 years before that. Without knowing his name or examining his writings, most people under 40 (and many who are older) now take as obvious truths the assertions he laid out and refined over several decades. On the SMCP this week we'll examine those assertions and the response they engendered on the left as well as on the right. And we'll look at the emotional motives that may have sparked his positions and that resonate with Obama voters today. Posted by: lotp 2013-01-26 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=360870 |