You and a group of strangers have been gathered to design a just society.
And to ensure none of you rig the system to benefit yourself, you've all been placed under a "veil of ignorance." Under this veil, you're blind to certain information about each other and yourselves.
You don't know your age or sex, your profession or natural talents, how much wealth you have, or your religious or philosophical beliefs.
So, according to political philosopher John Rawls, you should be motivated to consider what's most fair for all your society's citizens.
When Rawls published this thought experiment— known as "the original position"— in his 1971 opus "A Theory of Justice, " he was trying to identify principles to support a realistic utopia.
This visionary society would ensure everyone had the resources and opportunities required to freely pursue their goals.
Rawls was confident these principles could only be realized in a democracy.
But he felt existing social structures weren't the right path forward.
He believed free market philosophies and welfare capitalism led to unjust accumulations of wealth and power.
And he saw models inspired by Marxism as extreme reactions to capitalism's flaws, with unrealistic assumptions about economies and human nature.
