CONCEPT
The Difference Principle
Rawls's second principle of justice, which holds that social and economic inequalities are permissible only when they are arranged to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society — not the average, not the aggregate, but those at the bottom.
The difference principle is the most controversial and most demanding component of Rawlsian justice. It does not require equality. It permits inequality — even substantial inequality — on the condition that the arrangement producing the inequality makes the least advantaged as well-off as they could possibly be. The question is always comparative: compared to every alternative institutional arrangement, does the current arrangement maximize the position of those at the bottom? If not, the current arrangement is unjust. The principle is not a plea for compassion; it is a test. The test must be applied to the basic structure of society — the constitutional, legal, economic, and educational institutions that distribute advantages and disadvantages — and every failure to meet it is a failure of justice, regardless of how much total wealth the arrangement produces or how many people in the middle benefit.
In The You On AI Field Guide
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