• Rawls argues that the problem of justice involves ensuring a just distribution of primary goods, which include rights, liberties, powers, opportunities, income, wealth, and means of self-respect.
• His theory is described as pure procedural justice, meaning that once principles of justice are accepted, the resulting distribution will be necessarily just.
• Rawls criticizes theories of allocation that ignore the moral worth of individuals in pursuit of predetermined goals, such as utilitarianism.
• Utilitarianism, founded by Jeremy Bentham, prescribes the greatest happiness of the greatest number as the goal of legislation and public policy.
• In utilitarianism, happiness is measured by the balance of pleasure over pain derived from an action, but it fails to address disparities in individuals’ shares.
• Rawls criticizes utilitarianism for potentially leading to situations where happiness is maximized at the cost of extreme hardship for some, e.g., enslavement of a minority.
• According to Rawls, it is unjust to compensate for the suffering of the distressed by increasing the happiness of the prosperous.
• Rawls proposes a unique methodology for justice based on the social contract tradition, focusing on an original position behind a veil of ignorance.
• In the original position, individuals are unaware of their social and economic circumstances, wants, interests, or abilities but possess basic knowledge of economics and psychology.
• These individuals, acting as rational agents, are endowed with a sense of justice and are self-interested but not egoistic.
• They aim to maximize their well-being without being envious, and they are risk-averse, preferring the least dangerous path in decision-making.
• Each individual, in this state of uncertainty, will hypothetically place themselves in the least advantaged position and demand the greatest benefit for the least advantaged.
• The idea of the social contract refers to an agreement among individuals to relinquish the state of nature and enter into civil society.
• Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the key figures in the theory of the social contract.
• Each philosopher has different views on the state of nature, terms of the contract, and the nature of political obligation that arises from the social contract.

Principles of Distribution

• Rawls proposes that three principles of justice will be accepted under hypothetical negotiation, in the following order:
  1. Principle of equal liberty: Equal right to the most extensive liberty, compatible with similar liberty for others. No one’s liberty should be compromised for any other benefit, covering political participation, freedom of expression, religious liberty, and equality before the law.
  2. Principle of fair equality of opportunity: Focus on equal opportunity, particularly for acquiring offices and positions.
  3. Difference principle: Any departure from equal distribution of primary goods is justified only if it brings the greatest benefit to the least advantaged.
• A special reward for extraordinary ability or effort is just only if it results in the greatest benefit to the least privileged.
• The criteria of efficiency can be applied in a competitive economy only when they benefit the least privileged.
• The rule of allocation, ‘to each according to his ability’, can only apply if higher efficiency results in improving the condition of the least privileged.
• Rawls introduces the concept of chain connection, which means strengthening the weakest link in a chain to improve the whole system.
• The chain connection indicates that a rise in expectations for the best off will raise expectations for everyone, including the worst off.
• The justifiability of any special concessions or subsidies depends on whether they ultimately benefit the neediest.
• Samuel Gorovitz notes that Rawls is a redistributionist, focusing on the government’s role in achieving distributive justice by prioritizing the needs of the neediest in society.