Philosophy
Veil of Ignorance
You and three coworkers are asked to design next year’s benefits. One is salaried, one works weekends, one has a chronic condition, one is twenty‑two. You start listing copays and time off on a big pad. You sketch boxes for roles on different floors, draw arrows between them, and leave question marks where you are not sure who will land. People push for what helps them. The manager wants flexibility. The weekend worker wants overtime. Then someone says, What if any of us could end up in any box?
The veil of ignorance is a simple trick: write rules as if you do not know your role when they take effect. You might be the patient without savings, the renter below the noisy neighbor, or the new hire on the night shift. That makes you protect the worst seat because you may sit there. It also keeps you from writing clever carve‑outs for your current spot. Use it for office policies, school rules, rental terms, or a family chore chart.
Therefore
When you design a rule, pretend you draw your role at random afterward. If you would refuse the rule from the worst seat, fix it until you would not.
Frohlich, Oppenheimer & Eavey, 1987
In 1987, Norman Frohlich, Joe Oppenheimer, and Cheryl Eavey ran lab sessions in Maryland. Small groups had to agree on a rule for dividing earnings from an income lottery. They chose the rule first, then drew their positions at random, and real money was paid. Faced with not knowing where they would land, most groups settled on a plan with a guaranteed minimum for everyone and room for higher earners to keep more. Few chose strict equality or winner‑take‑all. Hiding personal roles moved people toward a floor for the worst‑off and incentives for effort.
A small reminder, on a policy draft or a planning wall, that fair rules are the ones you would sign if you drew the short straw.
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Related patterns
pairs with
Chesterton's Fence Principle: Thoughtful Inquiry
Pause before changing rules; ask from every seat.
contrasts with
Skin in the Game: Personal Stake & Consequence
One hides identity; the other exposes deciders to costs.
extends to
Second-Order Thinking Domino Chain
After fairness, trace the incentives your rule creates.