PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Justice

Make a comparative assessment of the Greek perspective of justice with the Rawlsian concept of justice.

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

Route 1 both treat justice as organising principle of political life → but opposite foundations (good-first vs right-first)

Route 2 Greek fits person to a settled role → Rawls secures fair terms among free equals → good precedes right vs right precedes good

Body flow

Plato: harmony / each to his own function / no meddling → Aristotle: justice as central virtue + distributive justice by merit / proportional equality → Greek = teleological, duty-centred, hierarchical, inequality accepted → Rawls: moral equality → original position + veil of ignorance → equal liberty first + Difference Principle → Barry’s chain principle / weakest link → right precedes good / free to pursue own conception of the good

Counter-view

Greek rootedness in virtue and common good vs Rawlsian moral equality and protection of the least advantaged → perfecting the citizen vs guaranteeing fair terms among those who disagree on the good

Conclusion routes

Route 1 movement from polis ethics to constitutional pluralism

Route 2 from a justice that assigns roles to a justice that guarantees equality and freedom

Model answer

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

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2020, Justice