রলসীয় ন্যায়পরতাতত্ত্বের বৌদ্ধিক উৎস ও দার্শনিক প্রভাব : একটি সমালোচনামূলক ও পুনর্গঠনমূলক বিশ্লেষণ (The Intellectual Sources and Philosophical Influences of Rawlsian Theory of Justice: A Critical and Reconstructive Analysis)

Abstract

John Rawls’s theory of justice is one of the most influential moral doctrines in contemporary political philosophy. This article presents a critical and reconstructive analysis of Rawlsian theory of justice by situating it within its intellectual and conceptual background. The central claim of the paper is that Rawls’s theory is not an isolated innovation; rather, it is a reconstructive doctrine shaped by key strands of Western moral and political thought, including Kantian moral constructivism, Humean ideas of social cooperation, Lockean rights-based liberalism, and Rousseau’s ideal of civic equality and collective self-government. Rawlsian theory, shaped by various philosophical influences, demonstrates significant originality; at the same time, it also has some inherent limitations, particularly its ideal-theoretical constraints in addressing social injustices, which this paper aims to highlight. Moreover, through a comparative discussion of communitarian critiques, non-ideal theory, the capability approach, and deliberative democracy, the article further seeks to demonstrate that these perspectives do not reject the core normative commitments of justice as fairness; rather, they bring its reconstructive potential into sharper focus. The article concludes that incorporating these insights can make Rawlsian theory of justice more relevant and effective in responding to social context, democratic values, and global injustice.