You and a group of strangers have been gathered to design a just society.

你和一群陌生人聚集在一起，設計一個公正的社會。

And to ensure none of you rig the system to benefit yourself, you've all been placed under a veil of ignorance.

為了確保你們不會操縱系統來為自己謀利，你們都被蒙上了一層無知的面紗。

Under this veil, you're blind to certain information about each other and yourselves.

在這層面紗下，你們對對方和自己的某些資訊視而不見。

You don't know your age or sex, your profession or natural talents, how much wealth you have, or your religious or philosophical beliefs.

你不知道自己的年齡和性別，不知道自己的職業和天賦，不知道自己擁有多少財富，也不知道自己的宗教或哲學信仰。

So according to political philosopher John Rawls, you should be motivated to consider what's most fair for all your society's citizens.

是以，根據政治哲學家約翰-羅爾斯（John Rawls）的觀點，你應該主動考慮什麼對你所在社會的所有公民最公平。

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.

當羅爾斯在其 1971 年的鉅著《正義論》中發表這個被稱為 "原初立場 "的思想實驗時，他正試圖確定支持現實烏托邦的原則。

This visionary society would ensure everyone had the resources and opportunities required to freely pursue their goals.

這個有遠見的社會將確保每個人都擁有自由追求其目標所需的資源和機會。

Rawls was confident these principles could only be realized in a democracy.

羅爾斯堅信，只有在民主制度下才能實現這些原則。

But he felt existing social structures weren't the right path forward.

但他認為現有的社會結構並不是前進的正確道路。

He believed free market philosophies and welfare capitalism led to unjust accumulations of wealth and power.

他認為自由市場哲學和福利資本主義導致財富和權力的不公正積累。

And he saw models inspired by Marxism as extreme reactions to capitalism's flaws, with unrealistic assumptions about economies and human nature.

他認為受馬克思主義啟發的模式是對資本主義缺陷的極端反應，對經濟和人性的假設不切實際。

So Rawls proposed a new kind of democracy— one where no person was considered less valuable than another, and all citizens could live according to their own wills.

是以，羅爾斯提出了一種新的民主--在這種民主中，沒有人被認為比其他人價值低，所有公民都可以按照自己的意願生活。

And while the details of this vision can seem radical,

雖然這一願景的細節看似激進、

Rawls believed that under the veil of ignorance, free and equal people would unanimously agree to his fair society.

羅爾斯認為，在無知的面紗下，自由平等的人們會一致同意他的公平社會。

So let's play out this thought experiment.

讓我們來做個思想實驗。

The first step in designing our society is deciding how to distribute what Rawls called primary goods.

設計我們社會的第一步就是決定如何分配羅爾斯所說的初級產品。

These include the basic liberties, opportunities, and wealth necessary for pursuing most goals.

這包括追求大多數目標所必需的基本自由、機會和財富。

Rawls believed our justice architects would agree to an equal scheme of basic liberties for all, including freedom of speech and the freedom to associate with whoever they choose.

羅爾斯認為，我們的正義設計師會同意為所有人提供平等的基本自由計劃，包括言論自由和與他們選擇的任何人交往的自由。

After all, without the freedom to pursue one's goals, resources like wealth and job opportunities lose their value.

畢竟，如果沒有追求目標的自由，財富和工作機會等資源也就失去了價值。

Citizens would also have equal political liberties to vote and run for office.

公民在選舉和競選公職方面也將享有平等的政治自由。

Next, Rawls believes the architects would establish what he calls fair equality of opportunity.

接下來，羅爾斯認為建築師將建立他所謂的公平的機會平等。

This means society must be arranged so no one is unfairly deprived of the resources necessary to compete for valued jobs and other positions.

這意味著社會必須作出安排，使任何人都不會被不公平地剝奪競爭有價值的工作和其他職位所需的資源。

However, after agreeing upon equality of liberty and opportunity,

然而，在就自由和機會平等達成一致之後、

Rawls believes our justice architects would see the benefits of allowing for some wealth inequalities.

羅爾斯認為，我們的正義設計師會看到允許某些財富不平等的好處。

For example, greater profits can incentivize innovation, productivity, and investment.

例如，更大的利潤可以激勵創新、生產力和投資。

But Rawls also believes our designers would want to limit differences in wealth with what he calls the Difference Principle.

但羅爾斯也認為，我們的設計者希望通過他所謂的 "差異原則 "來限制財富差異。

This states that wealth inequalities are only acceptable when they benefit the least advantaged citizens, making them better off than they'd be under conditions of strict equality.

這就是說，只有當財富不平等惠及最弱勢的公民，使他們的生活比嚴格平等條件下更好時，財富不平等才是可以接受的。

These tenets form the foundation of Rawls' just society, and he believed they could be achieved through what he called property-owning democracy.

這些信條構成了羅爾斯正義社會的基礎，他認為這些信條可以通過他所謂的財產所有制民主來實現。

This model would guarantee equal access to education and healthcare, and rely on government regulation to ensure a just distribution of property and wealth.

這種模式將保障平等的教育和醫療機會，並依靠政府監管來確保財產和財富的公正分配。

Rawls knew fully adopting this approach would require major changes for existing democracies.

羅爾斯知道，完全採用這種方法需要對現有的民主制度進行重大變革。

But he believed his principles could at least inspire some immediate improvements.

但他相信，他的原則至少可以激發一些立竿見影的改進。

For example, Rawls advocated for limits on campaign spending and political contributions to reduce the influence of wealth on politics.

例如，羅爾斯主張限制競選開支和政治捐款，以減少財富對政治的影響。

He also endorsed policies fighting discrimination and generous social safety nets like unemployment benefits to ensure a good situation for the worst off.

他還支持反對歧視的政策和慷慨的社會安全網（如失業救濟金），以確保處境最差的人獲得良好的境況。

Some philosophers have critiqued Rawls' work.

一些哲學家對羅爾斯的著作提出了責備。

Ronald Dworkin argues that the Difference Principle unfairly tethers society's progress to the status of the worst off, even if they're in that position because of their own choices.

羅納德-德沃金（Ronald Dworkin）認為，"差異原則 "不公平地將社會的進步與最貧困者的地位聯繫在一起，即使他們是因為自己的選擇而處於這種地位。

Meanwhile, Martha Nussbaum believes Rawls' thought experiment overlooks real-life particulars.

同時，瑪莎-努斯鮑姆認為羅爾斯的思想實驗忽略了現實生活中的具體情況。

For example, the special needs of a person with disabilities might not be satisfied by the standard distribution of primary goods.

例如，標準的初級產品分配可能無法滿足殘障人士的特殊需求。

And more generally, some argue the architects in Rawls' harmonious thought experiment are simply too different from the competing interests building real societies.

更廣泛地說，有些人認為羅爾斯和諧思想實驗中的建築師與現實社會中相互競爭的利益集團差別太大。

But since its publication, this thought experiment has inspired some very real consequences.

但是，這個思想實驗自發表以來，已經產生了一些非常現實的影響。

Rawls' rallying cry for social and political equality and a more justly regulated form of capitalism has impacted countless political philosophers, activists, and policymakers.

羅爾斯為社會和政治平等以及更公正規範的資本主義形式發出的號召影響了無數政治哲學家、活動家和決策者。

And this new school of thought about justice continues to challenge people to look past their biases and consider what a fair society might truly look like.

這一新的正義學派繼續挑戰人們超越偏見，思考公平社會的真正面貌。

For example, how do we safeguard our democracies against corruption?

例如，我們如何保障我們的民主制度免遭腐敗？

Watch this video to find out.

請觀看本視頻瞭解詳情。

Or visit ed.ted.com slash democracy dash lab to learn more about what it takes for healthy democracies to thrive.

或訪問 ed.ted.com slash democracy dash lab，瞭解更多有關健康民主蓬勃發展所需條件的資訊。

The first step is your engagement.

第一步是你的參與。