Now a value judgment on the distribution of income would show the required impersonality to the highest degree if the person who made this judgment had to choose a particular income distribution in complete ignorance of what his own relative position... would be within the system chosen. This would be the case if he had exactly the same chance of obtaining the first position (corresponding to the highest income) or the second or the third, etc. up to the last position (corresponding to the lowest income) available within that scheme.


Harsanyi, J. C. (1953). "Cardinal Utility in Welfare Economics and in the Theory of Risk-taking". J. Polit. Economy 61 (5): 434–5.

John Harsanyi Quotes

Now a value judgment on the distribution of income would show the required impersonality to the highest degree if the person who made this judgment...

Now a value judgment on the distribution of income would show the required impersonality to the highest degree if the person who made this judgment...

Now a value judgment on the distribution of income would show the required impersonality to the highest degree if the person who made this judgment...

Now a value judgment on the distribution of income would show the required impersonality to the highest degree if the person who made this judgment...