Rawls, John

"The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance about one's position in society."

"Reciprocity is central to the idea of fair cooperation among equals."

"Democratic societies must respect the burdens of judgment that lead people to different comprehensive doctrines."

"The capacity for a sense of justice is one of the two moral powers of persons."

"Rational autonomy and full autonomy are distinct notions in political philosophy."

"The principle of equal basic liberties has absolute priority over other principles of justice."

"A fair distribution of natural talents would be one that no one could resent."

"The basic structure shapes citizens' life prospects from birth."

"Procedural justice alone cannot guarantee fair outcomes without the right substantive principles."

"The duty to support just institutions applies even when they are imperfect."

"Citizens in a well-ordered society view the principles of justice as expressing their own deepest convictions."

"The reasonable pluralism of a liberal democracy is a permanent condition, not a temporary fact."

"Background justice requires continuous correction to prevent unjust accumulation of advantage."

"Justice requires that the distribution of natural talents not be influenced by morally arbitrary factors."

"The capacity to form, revise, and rationally pursue a conception of the good is essential to personhood."

"A social contract is fair only if all affected could reasonably accept the terms under impartial conditions."

"The difference principle allows inequalities only if they benefit the worst-off class."

"Political equality is prior to economic equality in the lexical ordering of justice."

"The family is not part of the basic structure and thus not directly subject to principles of justice."

"People have a right to withdraw from unjust social arrangements if basic justice is denied."

"Legitimacy requires that political institutions be justifiable to all citizens as free and equal."

"The idea of the public good must be compatible with respect for individual rights."

"Justice as fairness avoids both utilitarianism and libertarian extremes."

"Citizens must be able to justify their political positions to fellow citizens in public reason."

"The social contract is hypothetical but philosophically binding."

"A just society provides genuine equality of fair opportunity, not merely formal equality."

"The duty of justice extends to the basic institutional structure of society."

"Reasonable citizens can disagree about comprehensive doctrines while agreeing on political principles."

"The worth of liberty lies in what people can actually do with their freedoms."

"Justice requires that no one be disadvantaged by morally arbitrary features of their birth."