maximin

Rawls thinks that people in the original position would make this principle — which has been called the maximin rule, because it seeks to maximize the minimum level of welfare existing in the society — subordinate to another principle guaranteeing maximum equal liberty for all.

The Right to Be Rich or Poor Singer, Peter 1975

The real question is whether privatization ameliorates the access problem, and as Fredrik Segerfeldt argues in Water for Sale, it often does, making it a success by maximin standards even if it imposes some costs on the better-off people who already had a spot at the faucet.

But… But… PROFIT! (fnord) 2007

| Reply | Permalink maximin: "If you find it fanatical of us to live by some sort of principles that involve integrity, racial equality, and promoting equal access to voting rights, then I am happy to be a fanatic."

Culinary Workers Union Fliers Hit Hillary Over Caucus Lawsuit 2009

Since the least desirable circumstances (being infected with HIV) are the same in both cases, the reasonable choice, even if one endorses the maximin strategy, seems to be whichever option reduces the total number of individuals who are in those circumstances, revealing that, in the present case at least, the Rawlsian approach seems not to take into account the way in which individuals end up in the positions they occupy.

The Ethics of Clinical Research Wendler, David 2009

Even accepting the maximin approach, and bracketing the challenges that have been advanced against it, may not solve the problem.

The Ethics of Clinical Research Wendler, David 2009

But is “maximin” a concept frequently referenced in libertarian writings?

But… But… PROFIT! (fnord) 2007

Van de gaer (1993) proposes to apply average utilitarianism within each subgroup of the second partition, and to apply the maximin criterion to the vector of average utilities obtained in this way.

Economics and Economic Justice Fleurbaey, Marc 2008

The first development is related to the application of theories of equality of opportunity, and involves the construction of mixed social welfare functions which combine utilitarianism and maximin.

Economics and Economic Justice Fleurbaey, Marc 2008

(Rawls 1971) has been instrumental in making economic analysis of redistributive policies pay some attention to the maximin criterion, which puts absolute priority on the worst-off, and not only to sum-utilitarianism.

Economics and Economic Justice Fleurbaey, Marc 2008

These may not be the only possible combinations of utilitarianism and maximin, but they are given an axiomatic justification which suggests that they are indeed salient, in Ooghe,

Economics and Economic Justice Fleurbaey, Marc 2008