Editing Common good (section)

===John Rawls's Theory of Justice===
[[John Rawls]] defines the common good as "certain general conditions that are ... equally to everyone's advantage". In his [[A Theory of Justice|''Theory of Justice'']], Rawls argues for a principled reconciliation of liberty and equality, applied to the basic structure of a well-ordered society, which will specify exactly such general conditions. Starting with an artificial device he calls the [[original position]], Rawls defends two particular principles of justice by arguing that these are the positions reasonable persons would choose were they to choose principles from behind a veil of ignorance. Such a "veil" is one that essentially blinds people to all facts about themselves so they cannot tailor principles to their own advantage. According to Rawls, ignorance of these details about oneself will lead to principles that are fair to all. If an individual does not know how he will end up in his own conceived society, he is likely not going to privilege any one class of people, but rather develop a scheme of justice that treats all fairly. In particular, Rawls claims that those in the original position would all adopt a [[Minimax#Maximin in philosophy|"maximin"]] strategy which would maximize the prospects of the least well-off individual or group. In this sense, Rawls's understanding of the common good is intimately tied with the well-being of the least advantaged. 
Rawls claims that the parties in the original position would adopt two governing principles, which would then regulate the assignment of rights and duties and regulate the distribution of social and economic advantages across society. The [[John Rawls|First Principle of Justice]] states that "First: each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others".<ref>Rawls, p.53 revised edition; p.60 old 1971 first edition</ref> The [[John Rawls|Second Principle of Justice]] provides that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged such that "(a) they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society, consistent with the just savings principle" (''the difference principle''); and "(b) offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of 'fair [[equality of opportunity]]{{'"}}.<ref>Rawls, 1971, p.&nbsp;302; revised edition, p.&nbsp;53</ref>