I had also for a long time trouble believing that Rawls’ theory centered around “OP → maximin” could get the traction it has. For what it’s worth:
A. IMHO, the OP remains a great intuition pump for ‘what is just’. ‘Imagine, instead of optimizing for your own personal good, you optimized for that of everyone.’ I don’t see anything misguided in that idea; it is an interesting way to say: Let’s find rules that reflect the interest of everyone, instead of only that of a ruling elite or so. Arguably, we could just say the latter more directly, but the veil may be making the idea somewhat more tangible, or memorable.
B. Rawls is not the inventor of the OP. Harsanyi has introduced the idea earlier, though Rawls seems to have failed to attribute it to Harsanyi.
I had also for a long time trouble believing that Rawls’ theory centered around “OP → maximin” could get the traction it has. For what it’s worth:
A. IMHO, the OP remains a great intuition pump for ‘what is just’. ‘Imagine, instead of optimizing for your own personal good, you optimized for that of everyone.’ I don’t see anything misguided in that idea; it is an interesting way to say: Let’s find rules that reflect the interest of everyone, instead of only that of a ruling elite or so. Arguably, we could just say the latter more directly, but the veil may be making the idea somewhat more tangible, or memorable.
B. Rawls is not the inventor of the OP. Harsanyi has introduced the idea earlier, though Rawls seems to have failed to attribute it to Harsanyi.
C. Harsanyi, in his 1975 paper Can the Maximin Principle Serve as a Basis for Morality? A Critique of John Rawls’s Theory uses rather strong words when he explains that claiming the OP led to the maximin is a rather appalling idea. The short paper is soothing for any Rawls-skeptic; I heavily recommend it (happy to send a copy if sb is stuck at the paywall).