Abstract

According to Wolff, Rawls’ thinking developed through three stages, represented respectively by his article "Justice as Fairness," which appeared in 1958; a second article, "Distributive Justice," published nine years later; and the 1971 book A Theory of Justice. Wolff proceeds, in his "reconstruction and critique," by setting forth his understanding of "the central idea, or key, of Rawls’ work", then tracing the development of the idea from Rawls’ article of 1958 through the "final baroque complexity" of the 1971 book, continuing with a comparison of Rawls and Kant, and in the end highlighting important substantive flaws in Rawls’ project.