Abstract

After 1971 John Rawls has modified his theory of justice in important ways. He now intends to adapt the arrangement of the „basic structure” to an explicit ideal of the person and of society; „primary goods” are therefore to be distributed in accordance with the „needs” of the exercise of the moral power of „rationality” ; and hence the amount of the equal basic liberties is no longer required to be maximal but only adequate. I make two points: In the new argument the idea of the original position has no role to play, not even an illustrative or „dramatizing” one. When the argument has been made outside of the o. p., the people in the o. p. have to repeat the entire argument in order to reach the desired conclusions, The argument does not support the „difference principle”, but rather a principle of guaranteeing a social minimum. For the position of the least advantaged equally need not to be maximal but only adequate