The Rawls's Difference Principle and Its Interest of Emancipation

According to Rawls's egalitarian principle of justice (the difference principle), the social and economic inequalities should be arranged to maximize the benefits of the least advantaged. Yet the difference principle has been challenged by two major egalitarian paradigms: luck egalitarians believe it is insufficiently egalitarian, and relational egalitarians believe it is superfluous. Nevertheless, this does not imply that the difference principle is inherently flawed, as its justification extends beyond mere equality to encompass self-realization. From the perspective of self-realization, the difference principle can serve to overcoming alienated labor and advancing “ the full and free develop of human”. Therefore, elucidating the emancipatory interest behind the difference principle can offer a fresh lens through which to compare Rawls' theory of justice with Marx's political philosophy. This perspective suggests that, in addition to addressing whether “Marx holds a normative conception of justice, ” it is equally important to consider whether “Rawls's theory of justice can realize the ideal of human emancipation."