ABSTRACT
The works of John Rawls represent the best contemporary account of the social contract tradition through the introduction of an instrumental right to democracy. This was through the understanding that democratic participation was an instrument and a means to achieve liberty, which is an important principle of justice. His magnum opus , A Theory of Justice , was the basis of his philosophical interpretation of the theory. To Rawls, a polity aims to achieve two principles of justice, liberty and opportunities, income and wealth. The most important principle for the purpose of this thesis is liberty, which is the subject of the instrumental understanding of democracy. HLA Hart criticized it for being ‘too vague’; however, a vague interpretation of the term widens its scope. In other words, Rawls presented the best interpretation of liberty, wherein it is ‘only restricted for the sake of another liberty’. In order to achieve liberty in a ‘well-ordered democratic society’ decisions are made behind a veil of ignorance.
