Riqueza como valor de troca e o princípio da diferença de Rawls

Abstract

The paper addresses the concept of wealth in John Rawls’s difference principle. It asks, in particular, about the consequences for the difference principle of Edward Fullbrook’s claim regarding the Boolean structure of exchange-value quantitative orders. One of my conclusions is that, once viewed as a principle governing the distribution of wealth (in the sense of exchange-value, the difference principle requires strict equality (or equality to the nearest possible extent). Such counterintuitive result is avoided when wealth (understood as exchange-value) is replaced by other metrics of advantage, like capabilities or welfare.