The meanings of the words "liberty," "equality," and "justice" It will also look into why these ideas are important by looking into the context of their meanings. Liberalism is derived from the Latin term liber, which refers to a group of free men. According to Hoffman and Graham , liberalism has become the dominant philosophy around the world . The right is given precedence over the good under liberalism. The concepts of political freedom and civil liberty and human rights are inextricably linked. The state must defend every citizen's freedom using any possible resource, such as institutional, legal, or moral, as the foundation of democratic society. Giving someone what he or she deserves is what justice entails. “Justice is a moral criterion of fairness and impartiality...” says Heywood. The liberal notion of justice is based on the belief that everyone is equal. Equal opportunity indicates that everyone should have equal access to jobs and services. The two ideals of justice stand for equality and fairness. John Rawls, one of the most influential political philosophers, believed that justice is a desire for fairness. Fairness necessitates objectivity. His work, Theory of Justice, is centred on the concept of justice and fairness, which he claims is the foundation of civilization. As a political notion of justice, Rawls sees justice as fairness.

According to the author, such inequality jeopardises democratic values and should be addressed by imposing steeply progressive income and wealth taxes on the wealthy and near-wealthy. If adopted, his proposals will result in more equitable outcomes while undermining the fundamental foundations of freedom and justice enshrined in the United States Constitution.

Any examination of the legitimacy of markets and governments must begin with the concept of equality. This article examines many interpretations of equality, particularly as it relates to economic and political equality, and the consequences of each for market and government legitimacy, as well as the role of the state in maintaining a free society. It will be seen that the legitimacy of the American political system is built on confining government power to the protection of people and property.

The origins of legitimacy for America's constitutional republic and capitalism can be traced back to the Constitution's "higher law" basis, as described by Corwin (1955). Constitutional principles—that is, higher law principles or what Sir Edward Coke referred to as "common right and reason"—bounded majority preferences in the Framers' Constitution (Corwin 1955: 44). Natural rights to life, liberty, and property, according to the constitutional viewpoint, are self-evident and existed before the establishment of government. 1 Liberty transcends democracy in a rights-based approach to constitutional legitimacy. This viewpoint contrasts sharply with Piketty's assertion that "capitalism and markets should be the servants of democracy" (quoted in Schuessler 2014).

As the redistributive state has increased, the constitutional viewpoint on equality—namely, equal rights and freedom under the rule of law—has diminished. Equal outcomes and "equal opportunity," in the sense of equal starting positions, have become synonymous with equality, rather than equal rights under a just rule of law.