Ivy Tran

Period 2-3
November 18, 2014
Egalitarian Essay
If you are with a large group of people and you guys are planning on starting a colony on
another planet, what type of society would you guys choose to run the colony? Some may want
to run a libertarian society so everyone can own themselves and protect their property. Others
may want to run a utilitarian society so pleasure can be maximised and pain and be minimised .
Others, like John Rawls, would want an egalitarian society so the least advantaged can be
benefitted. Some reasons to support an egalitarian society are, 1) many will choose an egalitarian
society under a veil of ignorance, 2) many people are born with talent that can be shared to the
community, and 3) having the difference principle can benefit the society.
Rawls believes that many people would choose an egalitarian society under a veil of
ignorance. A veil of ignorance, according to Rawls, is when people dont know anything about
their economic background, race, gender, and ethnicity when they make their social contract.
Rawls believes that people wouldnt pick a utilitarian society. He states, in case we turn out to
be a member of an ethnic or religious minority, we dont want to be oppressed, even if this gives
pleasure to the society (Sandel 151).He is saying that when the veil of ignorance is lifted,
people dont want to be part of the minority and be oppressed, instead they want to be in a
society where they will benefit no matter where they end up in society. Having an egalitarian
society will ensure people that if they wind up poor, then the rich will redistribute money to their
benefit. Rawls believes that people will choose a system that has social equality and people

wont gamble their chances on their fundamental life prospects while choosing under a veil of
ignorance.
Since everyone is born in the world with completely random social circumstances, it is
unjust to make everyones life prospects depend on an arbitrary fact. The libertarian theory of
justice can solve the randomness. Sandel writes, citizens are assured equal basic liberties, and
the distribution of income and wealth is determined by the free market (Sandel 153). In other
words, he is saying that everyone is free to strive and compete to get a higher income. Rawls
argues that the libertarian system isnt just. He claims, allowing everyone to enter the race is a
good thing. But if the runners start from different starting points, the race is hardly fair (Sandel
153). He is saying that letting people strive and compete to get to higher pay is good but since
some people are born with advantages, the competition isnt fair. Sandel claims that one way to
solve for social and economic disadvantages is a meritocratic society. Sandel states, according
to the meritocratic conception, the distribution of income and wealth that results from a free
market is just, but only if everyone has the same opportunity to develop their talents (Sandel
154). A meritocratic society will allow Head Start programs, health care programs, and education
programs so everyone is brought up to the same starting point so they have equal opportunities.
Rawls argues that even though it brings everyone to the same starting point, the person that
gained the skill of running fast from the natural lottery would win the race. A meritocratic
society is unjust for the same reason a libertarian society is unjust; they both rely on factors that
are morally arbitrary. An alternative from both a libertarian and meritocratic society would be
Rawlss theory of justice, which is the difference principle. Rawls claims, the difference
principle represents, in effect, an agreement to regard the distribution of natural talents as a
common asset and to share in the benefits of this distribution whatever it turns out to be

(Sandel 156). In similar terms, he is saying that he encourages talents to be developed and
practiced as long as the benefits of the talents are given back to the community. This would help
the community as a whole strive to be at its very best.
One key point of an egalitarian society is the difference principle. Rawls states, only
those social and economic inequalities are permitted that work to the benefit of the least
advantage members of society (Sandel 152). In other words, the difference principle will allow
inequalities but only if the inequalities will help the less successful. Sandel states an example of
the difference principle is to give doctors a higher income than bus drivers because doctors
improve the situation of people who have less by increasing access to health care to the poor
(Sandel 151). Some may object to the difference principle by saying that if people know that they
have to give back, that they will not develop their talents at all. Rawls objects to this saying, the
difference principle permits income inequalities for the sake of incentives, provided the
incentives are needed to improve the lot of the least advantaged (Sandel 158). In other words,
paying the people that help the poor the most will give people motivation for those jobs. In the
colony, the rich should follow the difference principle so the poor can get help to fulfill their
dreams they cant get to without the aid.
Picking an egalitarian society is the best way to go if everyone wants to create a fair and
equal society for the colony. An egalitarian society is the most just society because people dont
want to be oppressed in a utilitarian society, people are born with unfair advantages that should
be made equal, and it allows inequalities exist as long as they can give back to the society,
making everything equal. Egalitarianism should be used in all countries and societies because it
makes everything fair to everyone and wont put everyone in economic and social classes to
define themselves. The United States should lean towards an egalitarian society, since a minority

here owns the majority to the countrys wealth while the rest of the people in the country are
struggling to get by. With an egalitarian society, the United States can distribute the money fairly
so there wouldnt be such a huge gap between the rich and the poor. But it would be hard to
make the switch to a egalitarian society when the media and other institutions promote a
libertarian lifestyle with minimal regulation, taxation, and public safety nets.