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Racial Paternalism

Racial Paternalism, Rawls, and the Rule of Law: Intruder in the Dust Part II

Last time out, I considered the thread of social obligations running through Faulkner’s Intruder in the Dust. Today’s installment concerns whether doing one’s duty in an immoral system can lead to moral outcomes. The question is different from whether a person can be good in an immoral system. Rather, can a mostly immoral or unjust system permit moral outcomes if people respect the rule of law? What did “rule of law” in the Jim Crow South mean anyway? With Intruder in the Dust Faulkner acknowledged the changes coming to the South immediately following the Second World War. Certain characters in Read more