The Veil of Ignorance Applied to the Contemporary American Government

December, 2022

This paper applies John Rawls’s veil of ignorance to U.S. governance, arguing that policy-makers who are blinded to their own social positions would craft fairer economic and social policies—ranging from COVID-19 relief and universal background checks to international humanitarian aid—by curbing private interest groups’ influence and prioritizing society’s most disadvantaged. It contends this impartial framework would yield a more equitable wealth distribution and strengthen democratic representation. ​