Veil Of Ignorance

Rawls asked us to imagine designing society's rules before knowing whether we'd be born rich or poor, brilliant or disabled, male or female. This thought experiment forces you to create systems fair enough that you'd accept any position within them—because you might end up anywhere. It's like being asked to cut a cake when you don't know which slice you'll get: suddenly, equal portions seem very appealing.

Robert Nozick famously challenged the veil by arguing it assumes the wrong starting point: why should we imagine society as a blank slate to be designed? He pointed out that people aren't born simultaneously into a social contract—they inherit a world shaped by others' legitimate choices and acquisitions. This debate reveals a deeper split: do we think of justice as fair design or as respecting historical entitlements, even if they create inequality?

Researchers actually ran experiments where subjects had to design tax systems without knowing their future income level, approximating Rawls' thought experiment in the lab. The fascinating result? People became significantly more egalitarian and risk-averse, choosing greater redistribution and social safety nets. Turns out the veil works in practice: uncertainty about your own position genuinely shifts moral intuitions toward fairness and equality.

Feminist and multicultural philosophers argue the veil might actually perpetuate blind spots rather than eliminate them. If everyone behind the veil reasons the same way—using supposedly universal logic—we might just reinforce dominant cultural assumptions while claiming neutrality. Susan Moller Okin tried to fix this by insisting the veil should make you ignorant of your gender, which Rawls initially overlooked, exposing how even hypothetical ignorance can carry hidden biases.

Some organizational consultants now use veil-of-ignorance exercises when companies redesign policies around parental leave, remote work, or promotion criteria. By having executives imagine they don't know their future family situation, health status, or career trajectory, companies arrive at more inclusive policies. It's Rawls in action: the same thought experiment that shapes political philosophy also helps create fairer workplace cultures.

Here's the twist: to use the veil properly, you need extensive knowledge of sociology, economics, and human psychology—but you must pretend to know nothing about your own circumstances. You're simultaneously omniscient about society and ignorant about yourself. This paradox reveals something profound: fair principles might require stepping outside our particular identities while bringing our full intellectual understanding of human societies to bear.