  Suppose now that a modern state favors a disputed ideal of the good. We need to explain why this action would be disrespectful to some of its citizens. The state might favor an unworthy ideal; but if so, then its action would not be justified on perfectionist grounds. So we must assume that it favors a sound ideal. On this assumption, how would its action express disrespect to those whose views were disfavored? Proponents of state neutrality point out that people can have mistaken views, even while being appropriately reasonable. (This possibility is often explained by reference to what Rawls termed “the burdens of judgment.”) They then insist that if someone is appropriately reasonable, then his views about the good should not be denigrated by the  state.[12]