Rawlsian difference principles and economic utilitarianism

John Rawls's theory, justice as fairness, constitutes an important alternative to a utilitarian theory of social justice. This essay addresses the relationship between utilitarian choice and the difference principle that is central to Rawls's theory. It argues that the difference principle, if applied to utility, is not supportable in the economic utilitarian framework. The Rawlsian result could be consistent with this framework if expressed with respect to income rather than utility. However, the argument in a utilitarian framework is ad hoc and not compelling. The paper presents conditions under which a utilitarian in an initial position, with some similarity to Rawls's original position, would choose the Rawlsian difference principle. The choices coincide only under the unrealistic assumption that redistribution entails no efficiency loss.