John Rawls: Obama Supporter?

"It is the task of the statesman to struggle against the potential lack of affinity among different peoples and try to heal its causes insofar as they derive from past domestic institutional injustices, and from the hostility among social classes inherited through their common history and antagonisms. Since the affinity among people is naturally weaker (as a matter of human psychology) as society-wide institutions include a larger area and cultural distances increase, the statesman must continually combat these shortsighted tendencies...

"The relatively narrow circle of mutually caring peoples in the world today may expand over time and must never be viewed as fixed. Gradually, poeples are no longer moved by self-interest alone or by their mutual caring alone, but come to affirm their liberal and decent civilization and culture, until eventually they become ready to act on the ideals and principles their civilization specifies. Religious toleration has historically first appeared as a modus vivendi between hostile faiths, later becoming a moral principle shared by civilized poeples and recognized by their leading religions. The same is true of the abolition of slavery and serfdom, the rule of law, the right to war only in self-defense, and the guarantee of human rights. These become ideals and principles of liberal and decent civilizations, and the principles of the Law of all civilized Peoples."

(The Law of Peoples, John Rawls)