Utilitarianism – in particular, classical utilitarianism – holds that a society is just when its major institutions are so arranged as to maximize the aggregate satisfaction of the rational desires of its members. Locating the good of society in the welfare of its individual members, utilitarianism has deep roots in the liberal philosophical tradition, being long associated with the defense of the importance of the liberty of the individual and of freedom of thought. It is a view whose initial plausibility and appeal is, Rawls suggests, undeniable (TJ 23).

Many will ind this claim quite surprising. Utilitarian reasoning has, after all, a reputation for delivering conclusions about what justice requires that are often starkly at odds with our considered convictions. But the approach has certain virtues that make the idea that utilitarianism is the most rational way to assess the justice of a society’s basic institutional arrangement structure surprisingly compelling.