 Distributive justice theorists (perhaps like all theorists) tend to emphasize the differences between their theories. This emphasis also provides an avenue for those who have an interest in ignoring distributive justice to dismiss the relevance of the distributive justice literature—‘we cannot get any guidance from these theorists—they completely disagree with each other’. Such dismissals misunderstand that it is impossible not to take a stand on distributive justice at every moment of a society’s existence. This misunderstanding is, perhaps, best illustrated by the most common type of dismissal. Often governments try to justify inaction, in the face of calls to change some government policy in light of some distributive justice concern, on the grounds that there are ‘disagreements/lack of consensus’ about the issue. Of course, there always are disagreements, on any topic, whether moral or empirical, which will have a differential effect on people’s material interests. But to think that this points to the desired conclusion—that in light of this we should retain the status quo for the time  being—reveals a confusion about the nature of the choices always facing each society. So, in this instance, to claim that we should not pursue any changes to our economic structures in light of a distributive justice argument calling for change is, by its very nature, to take a stand on the distributive justice of (or, if one prefers, the morality of) the current distribution and structures in the society compared to any of the possible alternative distributions and structures practically available. At any particular moment the existing economic and institutional framework is influencing the current distribution of economic and life prospects for all members of the society. To assert that we should not change the current system is therefore, despite implications to the contrary, to take a substantive position on distributive justice debates. It is to argue that keeping the existing distribution is morally preferable to changing to any practical alternative proposed—to take a substantive position in just the area that it was claimed was too controversial to consider. Societies cannot avoid taking positions about distributive justice all the time and any suggestion that they can should be resisted as incoherent.