Reciprocity as Mutual Recognition

Brooks, Thom

Abstract

For Rawls, there is an important difference between competing forms of regimes and what he calls a "property-owning democracy" and "liberal socialism."1 This difference includes that only the latter best guarantees principles of justice and satisfies the criterion of reciprocity. In this article, I will focus on the importance of reciprocity for this account and what it reveals about the citizens found in property-owning democracies and liberal socialist regimes.2 These regimes do not merely correctly recognize and uphold the importance of central principles of justice, but they also correctly recognize each other in an identity-forming way. These citizens mutually recognize one another as free and equal, but also they identify with others in a common bond of citizenship. Rawlsian justice is more than about principles and reciprocity; it is also about mutual recognition and shared identity. This becomes clearer when we look to the reasons why Rawls favors some regimes over others.

Citation

Brooks, T. (2012). Reciprocity as Mutual Recognition. The Good Society, 21(1), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1353/gso.2012.0005

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2012
• Deposit Date: Nov 21, 2012
• Journal: Good Society
• Print ISSN: 1089-0017
• Electronic ISSN: 1538-9731
• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 21-35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/gso.2012.0005
• Keywords: Rawls, political liberalism
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1471256
• Publisher URL: 10.1353/gso.2012.0005