ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to analyze the theories of justice formulated by John Rawls and Norman Daniels and their applicability to health. Rawls proposes that the distribution of resources must occur in two stages. Firstly, the concern would be the equal distribution of basic rights and responsibilities. Secondly, according to the principle of difference, unjust inequalities would be compensated for, in order to ensure everyone equal opportunities. His focus was the distribution of primary social goods, which don’t include health, considered a ‘natural primary good’. Daniels adapted the Rawlsian theory, extending it to health. Daniels’s theory, by embracing health in its broad sense and with special moral status to be protected by the principles of freedom, difference and equality of opportunity, strengthens Rawls’s theory. Methodologically, it is a purely theoretical study, developed from a literature survey. It was concluded that, although the authors do not present a definitive solution on how to distribute resources fairly, their theories lead to reflections about the need to reduce unfair inequalities in health, as well as give rise to debates on issues such as social cooperation, freedoms, equality, allocation of scarce resources, adequate distribution of income and wealth and opportunities.
KEYWORDS
Social justice; Equity in health; Public health