ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that full and equal citizenship in the American political community requires at least three things: individuals must have equal protection of the law and possess the same bundle of rights and liberties. It describes individuals must have equal opportunity but also have access to a minimal level of social, economic, and educational opportunities that enable them formulate and carry out their life plans. The chapter examines how 'justice' is defined in American political discourse. It then examines how definitions of justice also rest on competing visions of a political community an 'us' in which justice applies. Procedural justice includes what some describe as 'formal justice'. Government must be impartial, or 'neutral', with respect to an overarching vision of the 'good life' and allow each citizen to pursue their own good in their own way. As John Rawls notes, the 'impartial and consistent administration of laws and institutions, whatever their substantive principles, we may call formal justice'.
