A More Perfect Union
Philosophy, the veil of ignorance, and you! What would your ideal society look like?
Happy 249th birthday, America!
At the heart of my political philosophy and perspective is a simple yet ingenious thought experiment: original position and the veil of ignorance. This concept, which has bounced back and forth between philosophers for centuries, was formalized and laid out by John Rawls in his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice. You are a decision-maker, one of several creators of a brand new world, and must choose how to set up society's rules and behaviors from behind the veil. You can't yet see what nationality or sex you are, your cognitive and physical dis/abilities, so on and so forth.
Like creating a random character in Dungeons & Dragons, maybe you'll be smart. Maybe you'll be strong. Maybe neither. Consider how the various social and economic advantages would play out in this new society. How would you set everything up?
Rawls argued that people in the original position would inevitably come to follow two foundational principles:
Each citizen is guaranteed a suite of core liberties, which are fully compatible between everyone.
Social and economic inequalities must satisfy two conditions: to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, and attached to positions or choices open to all.
This latter principle leads us to the theory of utilitarianism. While you could minimize as best as possible the inequalities in your new society, they will nevertheless persist in some form…at least until we’re in Star Trek and the “replicator” ends all scarcity. Utilitarianism proposes, simply, ethics should pursue the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Easy enough sure, but how to get there? Here, the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-73) saw robust democracy and education as the very keys to the kingdom. He wrote that a man could shape “his own destiny-but only if his faculties were developed and fulfilled” through schooling, which could shape and instill a dozen key virtues for society.
Locke’s Law of Nature: “All mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, or possessions.”
John Locke (1632-1704), who the founding fathers looked up to and shaped a country in the ideal of, was the father of liberalism. Breaking hard from the divine right of kings to smash and steal as they saw fit, liberal society must develop and then fiercely defend a few key rights in order to encourage mutually-beneficial behavior. It’s the classic legal “freedom to swing my arms ending at the tip of your nose.” This also ties in the concepts familiar to everyone who studied economics or took business classes of utility and Pareto efficiency: making at least one person better off without leaving anyone else worse off than they were before - achieving maximum efficiency in the sale or distribution of good X.
As well, we must consider the concept of social justice. Long before it entered the culture wars, the Jesuits who coined the term, popes and union workers, the US Supreme Court, and other players pondered how the contract we sign in birth should look. What hierarchies are necessary and fair? What do we owe each other?
After all, how much are you willing to gamble that you come out as the demographic on top of this new society? It would be a classic yet excruciating twist of irony to have designed a society putting Mongol warriors at the top just to end up a Chinese farmer.
Take, for an exemplary example, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This law is considered a pioneering work of shaping society towards more equitable opportunities for those with hidden or visible disabilities. The general public is most familiar with the impact of Title III: Public Accomodations, which has wrought a society today where elevators, ramps, and seeing-eye dogs are common.
But it's also responsible for the ubiquity of captions on television (Title IV), which we all benefit from, as well as some powerful limits against workplace discrimination. Title I has opened wider the doors of employment, independence, and self-fulfillment to all of us, regardless our personal situation. And of course, this also means more contributions to the national economy from these previously socially-marginalized people. Also, contributes awesome moments like this:
On a global scale, the ADA is considered a pioneering piece of legislation. While some disability-inclusion laws were passed earlier like Japan’s 1970 BAPD, the scope and strength of the ADA makes it the paradigm to measure others by. It has “inspired global legislative efforts, setting a foundational model adaptable to varying contexts and fostering a unified voice in disability advocacy.”
Such progress towards a better world builds on itself, capping with the United Nations’ 2008 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted now by 192 countries. Breaking these barriers makes us collectively healthier, happier, and more capable. And allows for countless success stories, like 2024 welcoming the world’s first lawyer with Down Syndrome.
Neither the ADA - nor its counterparts around the world where they exist, much less the communities where they don’t - is perfect, of course, and there is more we as a society must do in striving towards the equitable treatment/access/opportunity of all Americans. Illinois schools still use “isolation rooms” to deal with problem students - often young boys and girls with autism or other developmental disorders lacking the resources they need. Still, one must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and it is an inspiring example of transforming the veil of ignorance into actionable policy, of philosophy into tangible improvements for our neighbors and family members.
There is, naturally at no one’s fault, a huge gulf between think tanks proposing policy and communities living in the consequences. Between the ivory tower and Main Street. It is critical for science communicators - people like Carl Sagan last generation or Neil deGrasse Tyson today - and politicians alike to communicate and inform the public, so we might make the most fully-informed decisions on the soap box or in the ballet box. Nevertheless, this is America, land of the free, where you can find a voice saying what you want to hear very, very easily. These days, some 10% of Americans believe the earth is flat. Another 9% are, dare I say, topsy-turvy on the matter. Oof.
So back to Rawls, to the veil of ignorance and your new ideal world.
The US Constitution, relative to its time and place, sought to shape a society John Locke would look favorably upon, where life, liberty, and pursuing happiness (more feasible than property) could not be infringed upon without momentous effort. These social rights and their enforcement form a perpetuating circle of ethics shaped and agreed upon by everyone living within this society. One may argue instead that there are natural rights, that liberty is granted by simple existence itself. It's a moot point outside a thesis paper, for there is no natural enforcement. Our cave-dwelling ancestors could not cry foul when their stronger neighbors moved in.
It is a classic challenge of the philosopher to step outside of themself. Loosen the ties that bind your identity together, for whether it was a divine plan or the happenstance of datenight between two gametes that made you, what you are now could have change along life’s path a thousand ways. That car accident might have left you with one good arm. That charismatic son of a preacher man might have converted you.
So, on the far side of that veil of ignorance, a new world waits to be born. How similar is it to our own? Where is there glaring empty space or coloring way outside the lines? That’s what I asked myself. That’s what we owe to our loved ones to ask them through healthy, robust discussions. And, critically, to demand of our representatives from the local school board all the way up.
Take care of yourself, and if you can, a neighbor.
As the Director of the Chicago Metropolitan Area Special Olympics for 3 years, I resonated with your Title 1 / ADA legislation info and history and the benefits to society at large.
The UNH Carsey graphs are telling. How in our highly educated society do people still believe that crap? It sounds similar to “They’re eating the dogs” 🙄🙄🙄
It’s worse than an Elvis sighting
Keep up the good work Austin!!!!