A Study On Michael J·Sandel’s Theory Of Justice

In the contemporary western society, the justice of liberalism has been dominated almost more than half a century, however, in recent years, American economic and political ties has been appearing turbulence, obvious contradiction and serious social problem. Procedural republic formed by the justice of liberalism, leads to American politics lacking self- government and the erosion of the community. Professor of Harvard University, Michael J. Sandel believes there are three general approaches to justice, that is maximizing welfare, pursuing liberty and promoting virtue, but the justice of utilitarianism neglects the human’s dignity and individual rights, and the justice of Liberalism makes the rights independent of variety of good ideas, especially about John Rawls’ deontological liberalism, an initial situation by means of hypothetical agreement exists some problems, and makes conflict between it and the primacy of justice in his justice theory system, also and the idea of the free individual. Abandoned the term of contract, through the reflection of moral experience, he believes in the ethics construction of justice, moral subject is not the subject of possession but composing ego, the community is not social union but composing community which composes self-identity of subjective identities. In particular, he criticizes the difference principle, he advocates to revive the Aristotle’s justice of virtue theory, distributive justice should accord moral desert, because the social subject is a composing ego, so as right can only be in good, government in the political life should not be morally neutral. Based on a political principles required by the virtue theory, he advocates more broader public reason which thinks a variety of religious and notions of the good, cultivating civic virtue in pursuit of common good politic, there has always been republicanism tradition in American history, as a result, when the Procedural liberalism gradually erodes the community, and makes citizens lost self- government, republicanism containing small community’s self-government built on republican tradition, should replace Procedural liberalism’s political philosophy. Michael J.Sandel’s justice theory is the reflection of the American practice popular, especially reflect the scale free pursuit for consumer economy formed by extreme liberalism, he does not entirely negative liberalism. Therefore, if C hina want to draw lessons from his theory of justice, we must base on the premise of the difference between C hinese and western philosophy, and the difference between the two countries’ social development. Whether Sandel’s theory of justice can save the trouble of today’s American liberalism, But he answered the freedom what contemporary western society lacks, is that strong public discussio n produced by moral reflection stimulate citizens’ full potential to form self-government, which is the most worth using for reference.