Is Rawl's difference principle fair to the talented and productive members of society? What was Rawl's trying to do?

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Is Rawl’s difference principle fair to the talented and productive members of society?

What was Rawl’s trying to do?

Essentially he attempted to formulate a general set of principles that we could all mutually agree to. Rawl’s assumed that the well being of society depended upon co-operation. His theory is based on traditional theories of the social contract.

His idea was of a number of people coming together in an ‘original position’ to agree upon principles of social co-operation, behind a veil of ignorance - where none of them are aware of their particular abilities, commitments, status or moral and religious conceptions of good. This position would be fair and the choices made just, as there is no unfounded discrimination between the members involved. Therefore it is justice as fairness.

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Although unconscious of their moral, religious and political commitments, each individual would know they had some, which they would be unlikely to willingly abandon if required to by the state. Similarly, such people could not honour  a promise to accept poverty if it happened to be that lower life chances for the few were required to guarantee better chances for the many. The only  set of principles capable of acceptance in this original position would be to safeguard the interests of the worst off in society - so inequalities in wealth and power can only exist when the worst ...

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