2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

Ayn Rand’s Objectivism and John Rawls’ Theory of Justice

gmb730

Essentially, Australia operates under both a Randian and Rawlsian political theory. Due

to an increased amount of government power in a mixed market system it allows

governments to tax individuals to redistribute income. These ideas are all present in

Rawls’ Theory of Justice. This taxation system allows the Australian Government to

create social welfare policies that reduce inequality by offering access to education,

universal healthcare and social welfare payments. 29 In respect to the Gini ratio Australia

places 56 th for income equality with a score of 35.6. 30 (Appendix 2)

Comparative Analysis: Objectivism and Theory of Justice

Through the comparison of all three nation states it can be determined that Australia

acts as the manifestation of the middle ground. Evidently, Australia values social rights

with its effective implementation of a social welfare system. Australia also benefits

from its emphasis on the rights of the individual as its mixed market, capitalist allows

an efficacious taxation system. Australia’s status as a middle ground country can be

expressed by its two biggest political parties; Labour and Liberal that values both Rawls

and Rand respectively. Comparatively, the Norwegian government clearly values social

rights over individual rights, represented by Norway having the eigth lowest income

inequality. Hence, Norway’s policies are in line with the Rawlsian position on social

justice. In contrast, the United States social contract theory is visibly based on the

Randian school of thought. The US clearly accentuates that the individual’s rights are

more important than social rights. Patently, the Australian government has evaluated

29 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017. Australia's welfare 2017: in brief. [Online] 30 Index Mundi, 2019. Gini Index. [Online]

15