The Rawlsian ___________________________ stresses that policy should improve the conditions for the worst off in a society.

• A. Veil of ignorance
• B. Maximin principle
• C. Pareto efficiency
• D. Difference principle

Answer: (D)

The Rawlsian difference principle is the idea that social and economic inequalities are permissible only if they are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged members of society. This principle directly targets improving the conditions of the worst off, shaping policies so that any unequal arrangements help those at the bottom more than they would be otherwise.

The veil of ignorance is the thought experiment Rawls uses to derive principles of justice, not the principle itself. The maximin idea—focusing on the worst possible outcome—appears in the justification, but it’s the difference principle that specifically states how inequalities should be arranged to aid the least advantaged. Pareto efficiency, by contrast, concerns making someone better off without making anyone worse off, and doesn’t require focusing on the worst off.