IMPLICATIONS OF RAWLS THEORY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ON INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL WELL BEING IN HYPERMODERN SOCIETIES

Reflections on individual rights and social wellbeing constituted one of the major preoccupations of thinkers in the history of ideas. However, this paper seeks to examine the implications of John Rawls’s theory of social justice on individual and social wellbeing within the actual hypermodern context. Hypermodernity, characterized by rapid technological advancements and diverse societal disorders, challenges the classical ideas of justice and equality thus, drumming the sophistic idea of justice as interest of the stronger party. The analysis of this research focuses on how Rawls’s principles of justice as fairness, particularly the concepts of the original position and the difference principle can be applied to address contemporary issues such as social inequality and individual rights. By adopting a hermeneutico-comprehensive approach in unveiling the need to reconcile individual freedoms and social responsibilities, emphasisare laid on the relevance of Rawls’s theory in promoting a just society amidst the challenges of hypermodern ideologies. The paper thus argued and recommend that, Rawls sociopolitical theory, if adopted and implemented, can paved the way for the emergence of impartial institutions that will protect the fundamental and civic rights of individuals and subsequently, guarantee social wellbeing. To this effect, the application of Rawls reflections on social justice is exceptional in overcoming the dynamics of hyper modernism characterized by excess individual preferences and the sidelines of the common good.