PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Justice

How has Rawls enriched the idea of justice in liberalism?

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
R1 pre-Rawls liberal justice = liberty + formal equality + procedural fairness → thin on distribution R2 utilitarianism widens to aggregate welfare → minority sacrificed → Rawls keeps liberty, adds egalitarian correction
Body flow
Kantian inviolability / anti-utilitarian → original position + veil of ignorance → impartial, Archimedean standpoint → two principles → liberty lexically first (liberal core) + fair equality of opportunity + Difference Principle → equality enters as a demand of justice → welfare + property-owning democracy as right, not charity → Macpherson: liberal democratic welfare state
Counter-view
Nozick (end-state, violates entitlement) vs Sen (capabilities beyond primary goods); Marxist line — veil hides private property
Conclusion routes
R1 liberty given grounding, equality given direction R2 more humane liberalism + revival of normative theory → reset the terms of the justice debate

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2021, Justice