obama + rawls = 3

As I was reading Rawls, I found his second principle of justice appealing but difficult to really apply practically to American policy. However, after some google searching, I found that many see Obama as a Rawls-lover. 

One 2013 The Economist article wrote that “Enhancing what Rawls calls “background justice”—the fair functioning of social institutions necessary for true equality of opportunity—is the moral impetus behind Mr Obama’s proposal [in the state-of-the-union].” 

I wanted to look into Obama’s potentially most famous policy to see if it followed Rawls’s second principle of justice. 

The Affordable Care Act was a 2010 law that increased health insurance coverage for the uninsured and implemented reforms to the health insurance market. The ACA could be seen as an attempt to implement Rawls by minimizing disparities. However, it goes without saying that this one act did not fix the healthcare system. Nevertheless, it’s interesting and hopeful that Rawls’s theory could be implemented, even if it’s to a limited degree. However, I find it interesting that the act sometimes charges people for not having insurance. I’m not sure anyone behind the veil of ignorance would agree to such a fine.