Williams and Rawls: On the Relevant Facts of Political Life

Abstract

This thesis is about Bernard Williams and John Rawls. It focuses on the relationship their respective political theories have to each other, through their attempts to express a form of "political realism" and the use of history. For both Williams and Rawls, politics has its own set of internal ends, which are embodied in actual political life. To uncover these internal ends, both philosophers must consider what the relevant facts of political life are. To this end, I investigate how Williams and Rawls, far from being antagonists within the liberal tradition, as they are often regarded to be, are rather engaged in the same project: to give purchase to the uniquely political concepts within liberal theory by uncovering and working from the relevant facts of political life. To uncover these facts, both find accommodation in the use of history as a means of giving realistic purchase to political concepts in liberal political theory.