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Rawls argued that whenever inequality would allow the worst off to be better off in absolute terms, then it was okay. He gave a thought experiment argument for
by QuesnayJr 7y ago
Rawls argued that whenever inequality would allow the worst off to be better off in absolute terms, then it was okay. He gave a thought experiment argument for this that he called the original position: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_position https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_position
- malandrew 7y agoFurthermore, inequality is only a problem if your culture doesn't condemn envy. There's a reason that the ten commandments includes commandments about not coveting what your neighbor has. It's a quick recipe for toxic relations and creates a circumstance where Rawls' Original Position is politically undesirable. Basically, if everyone controls their envy, the good kind of inequality that improve the worst off in absolute terms only really happens if you are tolerant of inequality by condemning acts of envy. One could argue that at least two Judeo-Christian values have lead to the stability and prosperousness of the Western World. Not envying your neighbor is one. The second is forgiveness, which prevents society from getting trapped into feuds with one another indefinitely and wasting resources on perpetuating conflict.