Communitarianism versus Liberalism:Examining the Principles of Social Justicefrom Michael Sandel’s Point of View

In the history of Western philosophy due to the rise and fall of many different ideas, the justice has received the attention from both thinkers and philosophers. In the last century, the growth on the development of the liberalism has brought the individualism with an emphasis on personal liberty; however, the lack of justice still bothers many people. Given the ever-increasing trend towards justice and schools seeking the justice; therefore, the justice has become the major focus of the thinkers of the western political philosophy in the last three decades of the ۲۰th century. In the division of schools of political philosophy, Michael Sandel is often called a communitarian. He is among the communitarians, whose view opposes the today’s dominant individualist views, coming from the growth of liberal assumptions and values made in the community. Therefore, the aims of this study was to briefly explain the communitarianism using an analytical method in order to provide a ground for a substantial understanding of Sandel's views, and to examine the concept and principles of social justice from his point of view. In general, it can be said that the communitarians emphasize the effect of the community on the individual and his/her identity and rights. Sandel, as a communitarian, believed that an individual’s identity could be resulted from the community. Sandel makes it clear that justice is also based on the membership of individuals in the community, and his goal is to give value to the "common good", which is based on the cultural and social conditions. Sandel considers the society in which social justice is ongoing and must have three main effects: (۱) the strength of the community and guaranteeing its survival, (۲) being passionate about values and virtues, and (۳) social solidarity ss much as possible. To achieve these goals, he proposes three ways: (۱) providing a ground for community dialogue through the promotion of rationality, (۲) talking about common good, and (۳) the government involvement to obtain superior virtues.

کلیدواژه ها:

Communitarianism ، Liberalism ، Political philosophy ، Michael Sandel ، Social justice ، Common good