EGALITARIAN LIBERALISM OF JOHN RAWLS AND BUILDING OF JUST AND HUMAN-CENTRIC SOCIETIES IN POST-SOVIET AREA

American political philosopher John Rawls could propose and develop a viable alternative to utilitarianism and naturalism peculiar to both the Anglo-Saxon intellectual heritage and Western liberal philosophy. In liberal tradition Rawls could build a bridge between modern liberal thought and modern social democracy. Rawls aimed to reconcile liberal belief in freedoms and pluralism with the need to prevent excessive inequality in society and to develop a model of liberalism which supports some form of distributive justice. Rawls could show that the social welfare state as an economic model and political liberalism are not contradictory concepts and that social welfare state as a model of market economy and liberalism as a political ideal and pluralistic outlook are actually two sides of the same coin. Rawls is famous for arguing that meaningful exercise of civil and political liberties cannot be plausible without the provision of basic social and economic needs. We assert that to present liberalism in Rawlsian 'egalitarian' framework is very crucial to help nourish liberal values in post-Soviet context. We believe that Rawlsian political liberalism will shatter deeply-seated stereotypes about liberalism in post soviet countries, specifically among conservative citizens who tend to regard liberalism as inherently egoistic and anti-humanistic.