Key Arguments

• He lists basic liberties—political participation, freedoms of speech, assembly, conscience, thought, personal liberty, personal property, and protection from arbitrary arrest—and explicitly states that "These liberties are all required to be equal by the first principle, since citizens of a just society are to have the same basic rights."
• He allows non‑equal distributions of income and wealth but insists "it must be to everyone’s advantage," and simultaneously mandates that "positions of authority and offices of command must be accessible to all," combining a general benefit condition with a fair‑access condition.
• He explains how to apply the second principle: "by holding positions open, and then, subject to this constraint, arranges social and economic inequalities so that everyone benefits," thus giving a procedural interpretation of the principle.
• He later reiterates that the second principle "insists that each person benefit from permissible inequalities in the basic structure" and that "One is not allowed to justify differences in income or organizational powers on the ground that the disadvantages of those in one position are outweighed by the greater advantages of those in another," reinforcing the requirement of benefit for each representative person rather than mere aggregate gain.

Source Quotes

They distinguish between those aspects of the social system that define and secure the equal liberties of citizenship and those that specify and establish social and economic inequalities. The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly speaking, political liberty (the right to vote and to be eligible for public office) together with freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom of the person along with the right to hold (personal) property; and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as defined by the concept of the rule of law. These liberties are all required to be equal by the first principle, since citizens of a just society are to have the same basic rights.

The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly speaking, political liberty (the right to vote and to be eligible for public office) together with freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom of the person along with the right to hold (personal) property; and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as defined by the concept of the rule of law. These liberties are all required to be equal by the first principle, since citizens of a just society are to have the same basic rights. The second principle applies, in the first approximation, to the distribution of income and wealth and to the design of organizations that make use of differences in authority and responsibility, or chains of command.

The second principle applies, in the first approximation, to the distribution of income and wealth and to the design of organizations that make use of differences in authority and responsibility, or chains of command. While the distribution of wealth and income need not be equal, it must be to everyone’s advantage, and at the same time, positions of authority and offices of command must be accessible to all. One applies the second principle by holding positions open, and then, subject to this constraint, arranges social and economic inequalities so that everyone benefits.

While the distribution of wealth and income need not be equal, it must be to everyone’s advantage, and at the same time, positions of authority and offices of command must be accessible to all. One applies the second principle by holding positions open, and then, subject to this constraint, arranges social and economic inequalities so that everyone benefits. These principles are to be arranged in a serial order with the first principle prior to the second.

Our common sense intuitions for the former may be a poor guide to the latter. Now the second principle insists that each person benefit from permissible inequalities in the basic structure. This means that it must be reasonable for each relevant representative man defined by this structure, when he views it as a going concern, to prefer his prospects with the inequality to his prospects without it.

Key Concepts

• The basic liberties of citizens are, roughly speaking, political liberty (the right to vote and to be eligible for public office) together with freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom of the person along with the right to hold (personal) property; and freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as defined by the concept of the rule of law.
• These liberties are all required to be equal by the first principle, since citizens of a just society are to have the same basic rights.
• While the distribution of wealth and income need not be equal, it must be to everyone’s advantage, and at the same time, positions of authority and offices of command must be accessible to all.
• One applies the second principle by holding positions open, and then, subject to this constraint, arranges social and economic inequalities so that everyone benefits.
• Now the second principle insists that each person benefit from permissible inequalities in the basic structure.

Context

Still within the initial exposition of the two principles, Rawls unpacks their content and provides an operational account of how equal liberties and regulated inequalities are to function.