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. ❋ 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. ❋ Unknown (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." ❋ Unknown (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. ❋ Wendler, David (2009)

Even accepting the maximin approach, and bracketing the challenges that have been advanced against it, may not solve the problem. ❋ Wendler, David (2009)

But is “maximin” a concept frequently referenced in libertarian writings? ❋ Unknown (2007)

Since the maximin rule and the difference principle both require maximizing the position of the least advantaged, it is easy to assume that the maximin choice rule leads directly to choice of the difference principle in the original position. ❋ Freeman, Samuel (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. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

Harsanyi and other orthodox Bayesians contend that maximin is an irrational decision rule, and provide ample examples. ❋ Freeman, Samuel (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. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

Why does Rawls think maximin is the rational choice rule? ❋ Freeman, Samuel (2008)

In other words, the average utilities measure the value of the opportunity sets offered to individuals, and one applies the maximin criterion to such values, in order to equalize the value of opportunity sets. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

In this first comparison Rawls argues that the parties would prefer his two principles to average utility because it is rational for the parties here to use maximin reasoning: to maximize the minimum level of primary goods that the citizens they represent might find themselves with. ❋ Wenar, Leif (2008)

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. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

None of this is to say that the maximin rule is a rational choice strategy in general, for it is not. ❋ Freeman, Samuel (2008)

For instance, a very risk-averse impartial observer may come arbitrarily close to the maximin criterion. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

Rawls J. 1974, “Some reasons for the maximin criterion”, American Economic Review 64: ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

Roemer (1998) proposes to apply the maximin criterion within each subgroup of the first partition, and then to apply average utilitarianism to vector of minimum utilities obtained in this way. ❋ 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, ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

This solution is therefore related to a particular social welfare function which is somehow intermediate between sum-utilitarianism and the maximin criterion. ❋ Fleurbaey, Marc (2008)

I always encourage my students to NOT to do the [maximin], and rather, the [minimax], as [working harder] for no payoff is not a good work ethic to have! ❋ LingDanc803 (2022)

[My darling], you in the [headband], you are such a [maximin]. ❋ Upthemags (2020)

"[On The wing]..." Mick C "[Saint maximin] isThe [G.O.A.T]." God ❋ Linus_hm (2021)