Rawls, Pluralism, and Public Reason
Rawls, Pluralism, and Public Reason
By: abdul holik
Rawls saw pluralism as a fact in the public political matter. It seem permanent, there is no political power could changes the diversities of societies into monolithic condition. The diversities of human are in everywhere and everything. They different in religions, skin colors, interests, etc. That can be distinguished to group, race, continent, but it cannot reduce to privilege individual.
In political philosophy, diversity is an interesting topic. A person is always life in group or societies. They will interact with other as human social. Whereas they have different backgrounds that probably in times could happens conflict because of diversities. How to manage the diversities in public politic?
It is impossible to give privilege position just for one people or one groups, because that means diminish others. In the relationship of state and society need one role that can secure and legitimate all people conduct as an appropriate one together. That needs a law that will cover all the diversities as a community with their unique values.
Law is must rise from the public awareness, Rawls remark as “overlapping consensus”. The overlapping consensus presupposes equality, freedom of citizen to express what they understand according to their belief. But, they cannot impose their doctrine to others to reach agreement. Their duties of them are to find common understanding of some conduct and how to legitimate it together.
Public reason has assumption that all peoples are rational and understand to their doctrine. They reasonable are about God, right, life, and death, etc. They can communicate what they have as values of life to other people and can give a respond for other values. They also can give a reason from whatever thing he/her refuses or he/her obeys. All religion is reasonable in public reason, so catholic is reasonable, Muslim is reasonable, Jew reasonable. However, reasonable Muslim cannot endorse Judaism as basic term for social life, and vice versa. Thus, from different values there is no comprehensive doctrine can be acceptable by all people.
However, Rawls contends that human naturally have a capacity for gentle toleration and give mutual respect between reasonable Catholicism and reasonable Muslim etc. he hope that all religious moral, philosophical doctrine will accept the essential of democratic regime. In find what the essential ideas that will determine by all people without diminish his/her belief and at that time everybody can gain free reason and agreement in judgment.
Democratic regime is based on the constitution to legitimate basic conduct of states and society. Powers holder have no authoritative power to justify conduct himself. All peoples has respect as rational human, all group of society respected as group with the privilege comprehensive doctrine. History, belief, and body acknowledge as an important think in building character of the identity. State policy is to safeguard the diversity of the peoples. It can being balance among citizen who have different world views and different political choices. Reasonable citizens could grow in the free and equal conditions where anybody respect and respond to other peoples without discrimination.[]
