Decision-making behind the veil of ignorance

What does the veil of ignorance fail to cover up?

“At the group level, a concern for justice is the indispensable compass in collective decision making, because it is the only means by which unity of thought and action can be achieved. Far from encouraging the punitive spirit that has often masqueraded under its name in past ages, justice is the practical expression of awareness that, in the achievement of human progress, the interests of the individual and those of society are inextricably linked. To the extent that justice becomes a guiding concern of human interaction, a consultative climate is encouraged that permits options to be examined dispassionately and appropriate courses of action selected. In such a climate the perennial tendencies toward manipulation and partisanship are far less likely to deflect the decision-making process.” Passage from The Prosperity of Humankind.

My observations of the essentiality of justice in decision-making processes have been gathered through experiences with both mutualistic relationships that seek to build unity and adversarial relationships that seek to impose a set of ideas by one group on others through contentious negotiation. Interestingly, however, both processes exist in an interconnected world.

Justice

“…By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. …”

Justice and thinking independently

Reading the well-known quote from Baha’u’llah regarding Justice while reflecting on this subject focused my thoughts on the phenomenon of “thinking for oneself” and what it means to be an “independent thinker”.

Set it then before thine eyes.

I remember when I was young thinking that this Hidden Word was about not cheating. Like, “keep your eyes on your own paper”! What fresh meaning I derived from these words when I began to understand Baha’u’llah’s imagery of a person who has formed her opinions by herself. I wonder whether this illustrates a cause-and-effect relationship between independent thinkers and a just society. Implicit in this independence is the imperative to investigate reality and the inability to blindly imitate others. Imagine if there were no cultural hegemony, no media campaigns and no weekly sermons to shape the way someone sees and knows…