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John Rawls' Unrisky Business

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Since the death of John Rawls last week at the age of 82, many eulogistic pieces have appeared in the press hailing him as the greatest political philosopher of his time. Virtually all of them cited Rawls’ two criteria for a just society, as derived in his 1971 book A Theory of Justice: 1) Each person should have the most extensive array of liberties compatible with a like liberty for all; and 2) economic inequalities are justified only if they benefit the worst-off members of society. The first criterion, the one about basic liberties, is pretty uncontroversial. However, the second one, which Rawls called the “difference principle,” has raised hackles, and not just among right-wingers. It holds that differences in wealth, status, etc., can be defended only if they create a system of market forces and capital accumulation whose productivity makes the lowliest members of society better off than they would be under a more egalitarian system. In effect, the difference principle says that

John Rawls Copy Link Share Share Comment Gift Story Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. Copy Link Share Share Comment Gift Story Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. Since the death of John Rawls last week at the age of 82, many eulogistic pieces have appeared in the press hailing him as the greatest political philosopher of his time. Virtually all of them cited Rawls’ two criteria for a just society, as derived in his 1971 book A Theory of Justice : 1) Each person shoul

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