O debate entre Michael J. Sandel e John Rawls: uma avaliação da crítica ao eu desonerado e à prioridade do justo

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the philosophical debate between John Rawls’s deontological liberalism, primarily articulated in A Theory of Justice, and the communitarian critique advanced by Michael J. Sandel. Initially, the study examines Rawls’s hypothesis of the Original Position and the Veil of Ignorance as a procedural device for establishing principles of justice as fairness. However, the analysis promptly moves beyond these foundational elements to explore Sandel’s deeper objections to the conception of the self presupposed by Rawls’s theory. Sandel argues that the Rawlsean framework requires an unencumbered self, a subject detached from its constitutive attachments and communal values, which he considers both metaphysically and morally implausible. The central focus of the work is to evaluate the implications of Sandel’s critique, especially regarding the priority of the right over the good and the feasibility of a politics based on strict liberal neutrality. Ultimately, the dissertation seeks to assess whether Sandel's emphasis on constitutive attachments and the common good offers a viable alternative or a necessary corrective to the limitations of liberal individualism in contemporary democratic societies.