Rawls and Utilitarianism. This paper discusses the difference in Rawls opinion to that of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a theory of ethics that suggests that the rightness or wrongness of a certain action is determined by the amount of happiness that it produces for the greatest number of people. Rawls saw a weakness in utilitarianism in that it assumed that the rights of the minority could be sacrificed for the good of the majority. Rawls believed that the basic social institutions of the well-ordered state, including its constitution, had to satisfy the fundamental principles of social justice. This was his main concern. He especially believed that such a principle was directly connected to having a contract where everyone understood that it was in everyone's interest to have social justice. 14.5 pgs. 15 f/c. 6b. Pages: 14.5 Bibliography: 6 source(s) listed Filename: 1999 Rawls and Utilitarianism.doc Price: 129.77