What kind of world would you formulate if you were conscious before you were born, but did not know the circumstances into which you would be born? Philosopher John Rawls uses this thought experiment to argue for the moral responsibility to create a just world. He referred to this scenario as the “veil of ignorance,” in which a person is hidden from the circumstances into which he or she may or may not be born. From a moral point of view and in one's own interest, it is imperative that the world be fair to all its inhabitants. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Rawls' "veil of ignorance" thought experiment was intended to highlight the injustice prevalent in the world. In the United States in particular, Rawls had grown up during the Great Depression and witnessed blatant discrimination against minorities. The other insightful observation he made was the rarity of the “rags to riches” phenomenon. Although there are many cases of poor individuals becoming rich through great achievement, Rawls found that these cases were extraordinarily rare. This has led many politicians and those in wealthy positions to adopt the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” worldview and, as a result, make little effort to create a more just world for those who are not so wealthy. privileged as they were. Rawls formulated a thought experiment to put those in positions of privilege in the shoes of someone who could potentially be born into circumstances that society is not as fair to than those who are privileged. One of the great tragedies of life is that you don't get to choose the circumstances into which you are born. You may be the child of well-meaning parents in a rich, developed country, or you may be born in a poor area of ​​an underdeveloped country. Obviously, where you were born is not well known and the best guess is that it is simply a matter of luck. In the case where basically a lottery determines where you were born, John Rawls proposes a thought experiment where behind a "veil of ignorance", you find yourself in a sort of limbo before being born where you don't know whether you were born in the rich country or poor nation. In this scenario, you are tasked with developing policies that will govern the world in which you will live. With equal opportunities to grow up in rich or poor circumstances, it is in the best interests of the person and everyone else who goes through this lottery to create a world that is fair to all its inhabitants. You don't want to take the risk of creating an unbalanced world and hope to be born into more positive circumstances. Creating a more just world does not necessarily mean that some form of utopian society will always be the end result of the “veil of ignorance” thought experiment. Creating a more just world can be achieved through small things, like guaranteeing certain rights, regardless of circumstances. These include guaranteeing every individual the right to free expression, the right to a fair trial, freedom from slavery, among many other fundamental human rights. There can still be wealth inequality in a just world, as long as the accumulation of wealth does not occur through the exploitation of disadvantaged workers. Wealth inequality can be mitigated by the redistribution of that wealth through programs that provide aid to disadvantaged individuals. Even if you are an ardent supporter of capitalism in which there is an inevitable separation between the haves and the have-nots, you would still support at least a fair chance for every individual to achieve considerable wealth, if you called the shots from behind the veil. of ignorance. Here.