Editing Distributive justice (section)

==== The just 'basic structure' ====
Building a modern view on [[Social contract|social contract theory]], Rawls bases his work on an idea of justice being rooted in the ''basic structure'', constituting the fundamental rules in society, which shape the social and economic institutions, as well as the governance.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Rawls|first=John|url=https://archive.org/details/theoryjusticerev00rawl|title=A Theory of Justice: Revised Edition|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|isbn=0-674-00078-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/theoryjusticerev00rawl/page/n32 10]–15|url-access=limited}}</ref> This basic structure is what shapes the citizens’ life opportunities. According to Rawls, the structure is based on principles about [[basic rights]] and duties that any self-interested, rational individual would accept in order to further his/her own interests in a context of social cooperation.<ref name=":1" />