ABSTRACT
The Law of Peoples is designed to apply in the first instance to hypothetical conditions, among well-ordered liberal and decent societies each of which has concern for the well-being of its own people and seeks their common good, and respects others as free and equal peoples. The idea of social cooperation also is central to Rawls's account of social justice. This chapter discusses some potential problems with the idea of a global difference principle and, more generally, some reasons why Rawls rejects the idea of global distributive justice. Given the role of Rawls's idea of human rights in determining the extent of the duty of assistance, it is important to emphasize the basis for Rawls's account of human rights. For Rawls, then, social cooperation incorporates a distinctly moral component—a notion of fair terms of cooperation, understood as "reciprocity", which provide standards of reasonableness.
