Rawls, John

"The parties in the original position choose principles that would satisfy them in any position."

"Background justice requires fair distribution of resources and opportunities."

"Democratic equality is superior to other forms of political organization."

"The law should be publicly knowable and applied impartially to all citizens."

"A just social system protects the basic liberties of all citizens equally."

"Reciprocity is at the heart of fair social cooperation."

"Political power should only be exercised when justified by reasons acceptable to all."

"The structure of institutions shapes individual motivation and behavior."

"Pure procedural justice applies when there is no independent criterion of fair outcomes."

"Persons should be treated as moral equals regardless of their natural abilities."

"Property-owning democracy is preferable to welfare-state capitalism."

"A just society provides genuinely equal opportunities for all its members."

"The capability to develop a sense of justice is essential to being a person."

"Political institutions must be justified to those they bind."

"The value of equality in a democracy goes beyond mere formal rights."

"Citizens should see themselves as authors of the laws they obey."

"Social cooperation requires that we accept terms that others could reasonably accept."

"Justice as fairness aims to reconcile democracy with individual rights."

"A fair system of social cooperation must account for the diversity of human interests."

"Primary goods are things that rational persons want whatever their conception of the good."

"The original position models the conditions for a fair agreement."

"Democratic citizens must respect the burdens of judgment in their disagreements."

"Political liberalism does not require citizens to abandon their comprehensive doctrines."

"The basic structure of society is where justice primarily applies."

"Citizens of a just democracy see themselves as free and equal."

"A reasonable comprehensive doctrine accepts a liberal political conception of justice."

"Justice requires that we treat persons as ends, never merely as means."

"The principles of justice are those that free and equal persons would agree to."

"A stable just society is possible only if citizens can accept it for the right reasons."

"Reciprocity among citizens is essential to the legitimacy of democratic institutions."