The premise of this chapter is that relatively few students in public health,
medicine, nursing, and social work have more than a superficial acquaintance
with specific theories of social justice. Although this text employs a
very specific (Rawlsian) social justice framework in its analysis of health
care policy, the text’s chosen perspective will be contextualized and highlighted
by contrasting it with other dominant theories of social justice. In
later chapters, the health care policy implications of the differing perspectives
on social justice will be considered.