A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
Published 1971 · 560 pages · 200,000 words · about 15 hours at an average pace · Nonfiction, Philosophy
How hard is A Theory of Justice to read?
A Theory of Justice scores 33 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 55 out of 100
- Technical philosophical vocabulary. Original position, veil of ignorance, difference principle.
- Sentence structure: 55 out of 100
- Abstraction: 80 out of 100
- Pure political philosophy. Sustained abstract argument about justice and social organization.
- Information density: 65 out of 100
- Dense philosophical argumentation engaging with Kant, utilitarianism, and social contract theory.
- Narrative indirection: 15 out of 100
- Systematic philosophical argument. Direct and methodical.
- Symbolic density: 20 out of 100
- The veil of ignorance is a powerful conceptual device but the prose is analytical.
- Ironic distance: 50 out of 100
- Rawls writes with academic earnestness. No irony.
- Resolution withholding: 15 out of 100
- Builds to clear principles, though Rawls acknowledges objections.
- Structural complexity: 45 out of 100
- Three-part systematic argument. Dense but logically organized.
How A Theory of Justice is regarded
A Theory of Justice holds a literary regard score of 84 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.