What does Rawls Second Principle mean?
It means that society may undertake projects that require giving some persons more power, income, status, etc. than others, e.g., paying accountants and upper-level managers more than assembly-line operatives, provided that the following conditions are met: (a) the project will make life better off for the people who are now worst off, for example, by raising the living standards of everyone in the community and empowering the least advantaged persons to the extent consistent with their well-being, and (b) access to the privileged positions is not blocked by discrimination according to irrelevant criteria. The second principle contains elements of other familiar ethical theories. The “socialist” idea (see Justice: A Word with Many Meanings) that responsibilities or burdens should be distibuted according to ability and benefits according to need is partly contained within the Difference Principle. We may reasonably assume that the “least advantaged” have the greatest needs and that thos
