John Rawls

"Reasonable citizens can endorse a political conception of justice while holding different comprehensive views."

"The principles of justice should be chosen behind a veil of ignorance, where no one knows their place in society."

"A well-ordered society is one where citizens agree on principles of justice from a position of equality."

"Freedom as fairness requires that basic liberties be equally distributed among all members of society."

"The social contract emerges not from actual agreement, but from what rational people would agree to under fair conditions."

"Justice cannot be achieved through the pursuit of self-interest alone; it requires impartial reasoning."

"Primary goods—liberty, opportunity, and income—should be distributed to benefit the least advantaged members of society."

"Political legitimacy depends on citizens' ability to understand and endorse the principles governing their society."

"The difference principle allows inequalities only if they improve the position of the worst-off."

"Civil disobedience can be justified when laws violate fundamental principles of justice."

"A just society protects the equal basic liberties of all its citizens above all other considerations."

"Toleration of diverse comprehensive doctrines is essential to political stability in a pluralistic society."

"The original position is a device of representation for characterizing the content of justice."

"Fair equality of opportunity requires removing obstacles that prevent talented individuals from developing their abilities."

"Self-respect is the primary good that citizens in a just society must be able to maintain."

"Public reason constrains what citizens can legitimately demand of each other in a democratic society."

"The basic structure of society has the most profound effect on citizens' life prospects and self-respect."

"Justice as fairness applies to the basic structure, not to every transaction or decision within society."

"Overlapping consensus among diverse groups provides the foundation for stable democratic cooperation."

"Reasonable pluralism means citizens will hold different comprehensive views, and this is not a defect but a feature of free societies."

"The right is prior to the good; principles of justice do not depend on any particular conception of human flourishing."

"Background justice in institutions is necessary to ensure that fair terms of cooperation are maintained."

"Citizens have the moral power to form, revise, and pursue their own conception of the good life."

"A society should be arranged as a fair system of social cooperation among free and equal persons."

"The capacity for a sense of justice is fundamental to human beings and essential for social cooperation."

"Ideal theory provides a standard against which we can understand and improve non-ideal circumstances."

"Public institutions should express equal respect for citizens as free and independent persons."

"The duty to support just institutions applies equally to all members of society."

"Democratic equality requires that political power be shared equally among citizens."

"A just basic structure protects citizens' ability to participate meaningfully in democratic processes."