<p>John Rawls is 100 this week! What made Rawls great isn't just that A Theory of Justice (1971) is a remarkable book. What is more remarkable is that rather than becoming an attendant to the vast structure he elaborated in A Justice, Rawls transformed it. That's the first remarkable thing. The second remarkable thing is how he transformed it.</p> <p>The changes Rawls made to his original theory were significant, but they were also limited. It's helpful to see it not as a demolition but a redesignation. The main thing Rawls changed was the function of his theory. In Political Liberalism, 1993, Rawls moves from a moral theory about social and economic justice to a more political theory contingently appropriate to modern liberal democracies.</p> <p>Think of it as a master craftsperson building a coffee table. Then, after years of reflection, changing it's function - now it is a bench. The craftsperson does make some structural changes, but the main transformation is a redesignation of function.</p> <p>Listen to the episode for more!</p>