To the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society

Although Rawls never retreated from the core argument of A Theory of Justice, he modified his theory substantially in subsequent works. The discussion in this entry is limited to his views as they stood in A Theory of Justice, which stands on its own as an important (if controversial and much criticized) work of political philosophy. His subsequent work is discussed in the entry titled John Rawls.

Critics of A Theory of Justice

'A Theory of Justice' made a significant contribution to re-establishing interest in political philosophy, and so it has served as the basis for much of the debate since, meaning that it has been much criticized. In particular, Rawls's colleague at Harvard Robert Nozick wrote a defence of libertarian justice in the aftermath of A Theory of Justice, called Anarchy, State, and Utopia, which was critical of Rawls's work. Because it is, in part, a reaction to "A Theory of Justice", the two books are now often read together.

Other prominent reactions to Theory of Justice include Ronald Dworkin's theory of equality of resources, the capabilities approach associated with Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, the communitarian critique of Michael Sandel and the luck egalitarianism of Gerald Cohen, amongst others. The assumptions of the original position, and in particular, the use of maximin reasoning, have also been criticized, with the implication either that Rawls designed the original position to derive the two principles, or that an original position more faithful to its initial purpose would not lead to his favored principles. Wikipedia