Prioritarianism

Prioritarianism, or the priority view, is a perspective within ethics and political philosophy stating that "social welfare orderings should give explicit priority to the worse off". Prioritarianism resembles utilitarianism, and is likewise a form of aggregative consequentialism.

The term "prioritarianism" was coined by the moral philosopher Larry Temkin. Richard Arneson, a proponent of the view, offers the following formulation:

Prioritarianism holds that the moral value of achieving a benefit for an individual (or avoiding a loss) is greater, the greater the size of the benefit as measured by a well-being scale, and the greater, the lower the person's level of well-being over the course of her life apart from receipt of this benefit.

Prioritarianism is one interpretation of distributive justice and is often pitted against egalitarianism.