Equality Principle and Sharing Principle – G.A. Cohen's Principles of Justice

Abstract

The release of A Theory of Justice by Rawls turned justice into a heated topic in contemporary political philosophy. Based on Marxist viewpoints, G. A. Cohen pointed out that Rawls' principles of justice tolerate inequality and degrade the basic standards of justice. Cohen put forward his own justice standards made up of the equality principle and the community sharing principle, with "equality of access to advantage" as the core idea. He held that society should eliminate involuntary disadvantages for all individuals, and make up for the limits of the equality principle through the reciprocal community sharing rule. Meanwhile, he stressed the vital role of a just social ethos in realizing true justice. Cohen's justice standards are essentially a further development of Rawls' theory of justice. Even so, they break away from the core logic of historical materialism, discuss distributive justice in an abstract way without linking to real historical and social relations, and thus carry fundamental defects. Still, Cohen's principles of justice offer important theoretical references for building fairness and justice under socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and bring positive value for promoting social equity across the whole society.