RAWLS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS - A CRITICAL-EXAMINATION OF THE LITERATURE

The original position contractarian model of ethical reasoning put for th by John Rawls has been examined as a basis for an environmental eth ic on three previous occasions in this journal and in Peter Went's Env ironmental Justice. In this article, I critically examine each of thes e treatments, analyzing the proposals offered and identifying their sh ortcomings. I find a total of seven different proposals in this litera ture for modifying Rawls' theory to augment its adequacy or as a groun d for environmental ethics. The diverse difficulties that arise in att empting to apply Rawls suggest the conclusion that Rawlsian ethics may not be a suitable foundation for an adequate long-term environmental ethics.