This is a brief response to Alec Rawls’s (2021) “Theory of Justice with Claims of Desert” that claims John Rawls erred in dismissing the role of desert when establishing the institutions of a liberal society. In response, I defend John Rawls’ division between the appropriate institutions of a basic structure and justice as practised in civil society. I argue that a prospective justification for the basic structure, one that is focused on maintaining social cooperation indefinitely into the future, is the more solid basis for justifying liberal institutions, including a market economy.