This essay seeks to get a handle on the question of the legacy of John Rawls, one of the most influential political philosophers of the last century. After placing his masterpiece, A Theory of Justice, in its historical and philosophical context, it argues that the enduring significance of Rawls resides more in his demonstration of philosophy’s place in helping us understand politics and less in the particular conception of political morality put forward in his seminal work. The paper concludes by suggesting that, while it is probably still too early to arrive at a reliable verdict about the precise nature of Rawls’s legacy, it is undoubtedly the case that A Theory of Justice remains a landmark in the history of modern political thought.

本文试图解决约翰·罗尔斯（John Rawls）的遗产问题，约翰·罗尔斯（John Rawls）是上个世纪最有影响力的政治哲学家之一。在将他的杰作《正义论》置于历史和哲学背景之后，它认为罗尔斯的持久意义更多地在于他对哲学在帮助我们理解政治中的地位的展示，而更多地在于罗尔斯提出的政治道德概念中。他的开创性工作。本文的结论是，尽管对罗尔斯遗产的确切性质作出可靠的判断可能还为时过早，但毫无疑问，《正义论》仍然是现代政治思想史上的一个里程碑。