John Rawls

"It may be expedient but it is not just that some should have less in order that others may prosper."

"The claims of existing social arrangements and of self interest have been duly allowed for. We cannot at the end count them a second time because we do not like the result."

"The fault of the utilitarian doctrine is that it mistakes impersonality for impartiality."

"Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutio…"

"In justice as fairness society is interpreted as a cooperative venture for mutual advantage."

"The fundamental criterion for judging any procedure is the justice of its likely results."

"I have tried to set forth a theory that enables us to understand and to assess these feelings about the primacy of justice. Justice as fairness is the outcome: it articulates these opinions and suppor…"

"To each according to his threat advantage does not count as a principle of justice."