 This theory says plausible things about simple cases. If Smith deserves 10 units of welfare and Jones deserves 20, and you can either ensure that Smith receives 10 units, or that Jones receives 10 units, the theory says that it is better to ensure that Jones receives the 10 units. For if Smith receives the welfare, the total value of the world will be equal to 100, while if Jones does, the total value will be equal to 200. These facts are summarized in the table below (the multiplications in the contribution columns are “welfare level times desert level”): 