--- title: "Justice: Who Deserves What, and Why" description: "Arguments about tax, inheritance, university places and healthcare are all arguments about what people are owed and on what grounds: need, effort, contribution, or simply being a person. Asking what r" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/justice-who-deserves-what-and-why-mt_umi3pKeHa1 source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/justice-who-deserves-what-and-why-mt_umi3pKeHa1.md retrieved: 2026-11-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Justice: Who Deserves What, and Why Arguments about tax, inheritance, university places and healthcare are all arguments about what people are owed and on what grounds: need, effort, contribution, or simply being a person. Asking what rules you would pick without knowing your own position is one honest way in. Subject: Personal & Social Development · Area: Ethics & Philosophy · Ages 16 to 18 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/justice-who-deserves-what-and-why-mt_umi3pKeHa1 ## Ready when they can - State three different bases for distributing something scarce and give a case where each seems right - Explain what changes when you have to choose the rules before knowing which position you will hold - Take a policy and explain which basis of justice its stated rationale supports, without assuming one feature reveals its whole theory ## Lesson: Who should get what, and why Justice asks what people are owed and why. Need, effort and equal shares are three possible bases for sharing. Food aid can follow need, a work prize can recognise effort, and a shared snack can be divided equally. The purpose and circumstances help us judge which basis fits. Desert means what someone deserves. Effort is one proposed basis of desert, not its whole meaning. John Rawls asks us to choose society's principles without knowing our income, talents or social position. This imagined veil of ignorance blocks tailoring rules to an advantage we know is ours. People can still care about their prospects. Rawls argues that this restriction supports fair agreement. It does not guarantee that everyone outside the thought experiment will agree with every principle. *(drawing: The order matters. You choose without knowing which personal position will be yours.)* Rawls gives equal basic liberties priority. He also requires fair equality of opportunity: similar talent and motivation should bring similar prospects, whatever a person's social background. Permission to apply alone is not enough. Subject to these requirements, the difference principle calls for the feasible social and economic arrangement giving the greatest benefit to the least advantaged. Any improvement over one alternative is not enough if another would benefit them more. **Example.** For a simplified comparison, suppose plans A, B and C are feasible and protect basic liberties and fair opportunity. All other relevant features are comparable. The least advantaged receive 6, 8 and 7 resource units respectively. The difference principle favours B in this comparison: it gives that group the most. A larger total for everyone combined would not alone settle this question. Read a policy's stated reason. Meals targeted at pupils needing food support can express need; universal meals may serve several aims. A fixed fine sets the same money penalty for the same offence, but may burden incomes differently. Tutoring assigned by assessed learning needs can express need while seeking fair opportunity. One feature rarely reveals a policy's whole theory. Ask what is being made equal. When resources have different purposes, test each allocation rule separately. A club might reward sustained effort with a prize but divide shared materials equally. Working longer could support the prize without supporting a larger share of materials. Equal shares of materials also do not require sharing every award equally. Give a reason for each allocation instead of carrying one rule over to every resource. **Recap.** Need, effort and equal shares offer different reasons. Rawls combines basic liberties, fair opportunity and the greatest benefit to the least advantaged. *This lesson, quiz and flashcards were written for this dataset. Business Ethics and Introduction to Philosophy informed the concept checks. The allocation plans and club example are fictional.* ## Practice 8 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Ethical Frameworks and Moral Reasoning](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/ethical-frameworks-and-moral-reasoning-mt_LPYPuSaxv_) ## Optional connections - [Character: The Kind of Person You Are Becoming](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/character-the-kind-of-person-you-are-becoming-mt_7GCNpcZGku) - [Systemic Inequality and Allyship](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/systemic-inequality-and-allyship-mt_oqvJJKCJXw) ## Opens up - [The Ethics of the Tools We Build](https://lightmysky.com/learn/personal-and-social-development/the-ethics-of-the-tools-we-build-mt_eZh-vIoluR)