The Idea Of Public Reason

The Good Of Political Life Is The Good Of Free And Equal Citizens Recognizing The Duty Of Civility To One Another And Supporting The Institutions Of A Constitutional Regime.

The Concept Of Justice I Take To Be Defined, Then, By The Role Of Its Principles In Assigning Rights And Duties And In Defining The Appropriate Division Of Social Advantages. A Conception Of Justice Is An Interpretation Of This Role.

The Question Is, We Have A Particular Problem. How Many Religions Are There In The United States? How Are They Going To Get On Together? One Way, Which Has Been The Usual Way Historically, Is To Fight It Out, As In France In The Sixteenth Century. That's A Possibility.

An Injustice Is Tolerable Only When It Is Necessary To Avoid An Even Greater Injustice.

Many Of Our Most Serious Conflicts Are Conflicts Within Ourselves. Those Who Suppose Their Judgements Are Always Consistent Are Unreflective Or Dogmatic.