Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View

Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View Bree Dela Rosa   Rawls Political Concept and the View Associated with Realism Introduction John Rawls in his work sought to capitalize on the concept of justice; enabled by his exploration on The Theory of Justice. As discussed by Rawls, the bone of contention when it comes to the aspect of the truth is that; the principles of justice in the structural dimension of the society are the main guidelines.[1] Getting back to the main idea which is the political aspect, there is an intertwine between the concept of justice and the political aspect. Rawls noted that to attain an upper hand in the political arena; there is a collision with the discussed principles of justice.[2] On the liberties that the citizens of a particular country are endowed to; political independence is one of the same. Political freedom gives a citizen the right to participate in a voting exercise, and also, can be a participant in elective public positions.[3] Political liberty is one of the political reasons that the same citizens get to enjoy. Realism, as highlighted, is a phrase that enjoys a broad ra nge of definitions.[4] The different usage it has is in the various areas such as; art, moral philosophy, politics among others. It is important to note that realism involves adorning in a particular attitude towards the world, to focus on the most salient dimensions of a given situation, whether or not they conform to our preferences or desires.[5] Through the in-depth study of the film Glory, it shall be possible to determine the differences that exist between the political aspect and realism. The shared thoughts of Rawls opined that a society based on ideologies of politics is that where the citizens get to enjoy the outlined political liberties which are free from ambiguity.[6] All the people despite their political inclinations, races, sexual orientation or even religious affiliations are to enjoy these political rights. However, in the Edward Zwick-directed film Glory, this is not the case. There seemed to be some alienation when it came to the enjoyment of the liberties endowed to the citizens and especially those partaking in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.[7] All the soldiers and army personnel participating in the field were bound to receive their provisions and personal effects from their heads charged with that duty by the government. Robert Shaw in the film Glory unearthed that black soldiers were discriminated upon and even denied basic items such as the shoes. It is important to know that as determined by a particular author; realism is frequently employed as a term to describe approaches that focus on the sources, modalities, and effects of power.[8] Therefore, realism augurs easily with the various slots whether in leadership or the political arena. Besides, realism aligns to the realpolitik, which is a subject of both the military and political power and which finds unworthy the steps that would bring changes that ensure that there is progress on the global front.[9] In the film Glory, there are obvious stumbling blocks to the initiation of the changes that would provide the relative deduction of the racism menace and the ill treatment of the slaves. The federal government was itself, in fact, paying the black soldiers lesser amount compared to that given to the white soldiers.[10] The soldiers under the command of Shaw were being denied personal effects such as shoes due to their race. Some of these black soldiers who had joined the co mbat were former slaves. Despite having been soldiers for the primary purpose of participating in the battlefield, there was no awarding of black soldiers with a chance to do so. Instead, treatment as manual laborers was the order of the day. Another political notion offered by Rawls is that a society that is politically ideal is that in which there is some economic balance where those that are in socially unjust position are also able to live comfortably. This economic balance in a practical manner involves ensuring that the society is economically just where the haves and the have-nots get access to basic social amenities. In most communities, striking a balance in the distribution of resources among these two groups is considered a big challenge. The large gap existing evidences the situation between the wealthy and the have-nots. This gap between the rich and the have-nots continues to widen since the rich become richer while the poor become poorer. The disparity between the haves and the poor is because of the uneven sharing of resources. Among the needy in the society, there are fewer resources, and in other scenarios, these resources do not exist. The film Glory apparently pictures this kind of setup present in mos t communities. There is a major disparity in the economic resources at the disposal of the white soldiers and the black soldiers. Payments to the black soldiers are lesser than that of the white soldiers; where they get $10 in a month and their white counterparts receiving $13 during the same duration.[11] Also, the film depicts a picture where there is a subjection of harsh conditions on black soldiers. In totality, economic imbalance characterizes this society of members of the troops, which is the contrary of what Rawls advocated of a politically ideal society. Realism in the political angle as highlighted is not a new subject in general.[12] In a bid to make a comeback to the aspect of realism; one of the main areas eyed was the political philosophy and the normative political theory. Realism, in particular, is deeply entrenched in political philosophy.[13] In matters about the realism in political philosophy, it involves a roughly spoken manner. Besides that, its main area of interest is not in how people are supposed to act in an ideal or rational situation, what they are to vest their desires in or even the types of individuals they are meant to be. In fact, its primary interest is the operation of the social, economic or even political functions in a given community at a particular point in time. Another bestowed on the same is what moves members of this community to act in certain situations. There is a painting of this angle of realism in the film Glory. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is the particular circumstances at a p articular point in time of the members of the soldiers fraternity. Operations of the social, economic and political functions of the community of the troops depict realism in political philosophy. Socially, the black soldiers were considered to be in a cluster different from their white counterparts. There is outright discrimination in the job description, overall treatment, and even remunerations. The treatment of the black soldiers in this quarter was a clear reflection of the reigning political era. Therefore, fuelling of these actions against the black soldiers was by the federal government and the political class inclusive. The political ideas that Rawls had differed from the real situation that was on the ground. In fact, there was an intriguing disparity between political compliance and the political reality.[14] These emerging differences are the ultimate case scenarios in most situations and the one provided by the film Glory is no different. Shaw aggressively campaigned for the proper treatment of the black soldiers that he was commanding. Despite his desire for a perfect situation for these black soldiers, this would not be the case as the reality was that there was a deep entrenchment of racism in this particular society. In conclusion, there are standing differences in the political notion that Rawlings sought to communicate and the aspect of realism. There was a significant evidence of these different points in the film Glory. These differences provide a stable ground for the Rawls political notion and realism both on an independent framework. Bibliography Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM Philp, Mark. 2012.   Realism without Illusions. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness [1] Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness. Pg. 1 [2] Ibid, pg. 4 [3] Ibid, pg. 8 [4] Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations, pg. 1 [5] Ibid [6] Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy. Pg. 22 [7] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM [8]Bell, Duncan. pg. 1 [9] Ibid, pg. 2 [10] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; n.p. [11] Ibid [12] Philp, Mark. 2012.   Realism without Illusions. pg. 2. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 [13] Ibid, pg. 2 [14] Bird, Colin, pg. 22