In addition, Johannesson and Meltzer’s argument requires that all rational economic
agents share the same views about society from behind an appropriately specified veil of
ignorance. The operational device of the veil of ignorance has been the subject of much
controversy in the philosophical literature (see Barry, 1989) and so, even if the restrictions
outlined here were to be established empirically, the framework may still be a difficult one to accept. Whilst we must use a cardinal utility function in any link between CBA and CEA, we do not have to use a veil of ignorance to achieve it. We now turn our attention to the arguments put forward by Bleichrodt and Quiggin (1999)