II. Principles for a Just Society

The three principles of justice as fairness are discussed in turn. First, each person is to enjoy equal basic liberties. The first principle speaks to equal citizenship and has the highest priority among the three principles. In general, no amount of benefits gained from the second or third principle can compensate for any infringement of the first principle. Basic liberties in the first principle include political liberty, freedom of speech and assembly, liberty of conscience and freedom of thought, freedom of the person, the right to hold personal property, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure. The first principle is a simply stated version of the Rawlsian first principle of justice as fairness.

Second, each person is to enjoy equal access to social and economic opportunities that are open to all. The second principle speaks to equal opportunity in economic distribution. It promises social mobility by making social and economic advantages open to all. Because social and economic opportunities are given to everyone, including those with the abilities to avail themselves of the opportunities, the second principle dictates that education and training are accessible to those willing to obtain them. The second principle is a partial adoption of Rawls' second principle of justice as fairness. It drops the part from Rawls' second principle about social and economic inequalities being arranged such that they are reasonably expected to everyone's advantage. The reason for the partial adoption is because what is dropped from the original Rawlsian second principle is implicit in the overall principles of justice as fairness.

Third, the least advantaged should have priority to benefit from social resources. The third principle speaks to a path for consistently improving the conditions of the society as a whole and the ongoing effort to remediate existing inequality. By prioritizing the least advantaged to receive social resources, the least advantaged will improve their situation. As the least advantaged improves their condition, those who are slightly better off than the least advantaged will similarly benefit from social resources and improve their condition as well. As the process repeats itself, everyone benefits from the social resources, and the condition of everyone in the society is improved. The third principle takes the spirit of Rawls' difference principle and his original second principle to provide a simply stated principle supplemental to the current version of the first and second principles.

As the first principle of justice as fairness is given the greatest priority, the second and third principles must comply with the first principle. Also, basic liberty guaranteed by the first principle can only be compromised to protect another basic liberty. ² This is because equal basic liberty for all is fundamental to justice as fairness. Inequality in basic liberties creates inequality per se. The second principle has priority over the third principle. Opportunities and positions should be open to all on an equal basis based on abilities and willingness to use the abilities and not simply given out to anyone on an anti-competitive basis. Further, education and training opportunities must be provided on as equal a basis as possible to everyone so that everyone, if they are willing, has the skills necessary to compete for opportunities and positions in society. The third principle recognizes that inequality can exist despite the first and second principles and aims to direct resources to those who are less advantaged to level the playing field continuously. In reducing existing inequality, improving the condition for the least advantaged to minimize the gap is preferable to reduce the wealth of the better off through taxation. ³ Taxing the well-off with a purpose to reduce inequality would require the tax rate to be so high that it could be considered punitive, which may infringe on the first principle. ⁴ In contrast, providing assistance to the least advantaged is not only consistent with the first principle, but it also improves the conditions for the application of the second principle as the least advantaged is put in better conditions and can take better advantage of the social and economic opportunities that are open to them.

The basis for the three principles of justice as fairness for a just society is based on choices rational persons who do not know their actual positions in society ⁵ would have made for the society they live in ⁶ and based on the social contract theory and the theory of natural duty. The principles of justice as fairness are the basic principles rational persons would have embraced among alternatives because these principles provide the best method for each person to secure their ends. Not only do these principles guarantee individual liberties and equal opportunities to pursue one's conception of the good, but they also render assistance to those at the time of need so that they may recover from bad fortunes. The social contract theory marks the mutuality of rights and obligations among the parties based on promises. Although the principles of justice as fairness originate without identifying particular parties or their particular positions, it is clear that each person has both rights and obligations as a member of the society. Lastly, the principles of fairness as justice are based on the theory of natural duty in that an important natural duty is to support justice, the first virtue. ⁷ The natural duties include the duty of mutual respect and the duty of mutual aid, which are subsumed in the conception of justice.