ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a metatheoretical norm about government: the fair government principle. The fair government principle adopts the analogy of moving from the personal worldview to the shared community worldview concerning autonomy. For John Rawls, the international order is a dialogue between the good guys and the almost good guys. The liberal democracies tolerate some unjust organization of the decent societies in order to the causes of development and peace. Where Rawls calls for the creation of liberal democracies throughout the world, the fair government principle merely sets out a procedural objective—the establishment of and respect for interactive social and political institutions for change, considered disinterestedly within the context of a politically independent rule of law. Peoples have a duty to assist other peoples living under unfavorable conditions that prevent their having a just or decent political and social regime.
