 For the strict egalitarian the relative position of people is all important and the absolute position is either not important at all or lexically inferior. For Rawls, at least with respect to the social and economic inequalities, the opposite is true. But there have been various plausible explanations given in reply to Rawls’ proposed Difference Principle why relative position is a value that should be weighed against the value of the absolute position of the least advantaged rather than subordinated lexically to it. In an early reply to Rawls, Crocker explains the value of paying attention to the relative position as a way of understanding the value of solidarity. His approach fits into a set of views in which being materially equal, or striving towards it, is an important expression of the equality of persons.