The Veil of Ignorance
If you had to design the rules of society without knowing who you would be in it, your wealth, race, gender, intelligence, or any other trait, what rules would you choose?
Developed by philosopher John Rawls in 1971, the Veil of Ignorance is the cornerstone of his theory of justice. The idea is to strip away self-interest: if you don't know whether you'll be born rich or poor, majority or minority, healthy or disabled, you'll design a society you'd actually be willing to live in at any position.
Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.
The original position
Rawls called the starting point the "original position," the hypothetical state in which you must choose social principles without knowing your place in society. He argued that rational people in this position would choose two principles:
- Everyone gets the most extensive basic liberties compatible with the same for all (freedom of speech, voting, etc.)
- Social and economic inequalities are only acceptable if they benefit the least advantaged members of society.
The second principle, the "difference principle," is the controversial one. It says inequality is fine, but only when it lifts the floor.