A variant of non-consequentialism and its characterization

In this paper we investigate a choice behavior that recognizes the intrinsic value of opportunities for choice. Nonconsequentialism is a choice attitude toward outcomes and opportunities and prioritizes opportunities for choice rather than outcomes. It is possible to define various types of nonconsequentialism in terms of criteria for ranking opportunity sets. We consider the leximax ordering over opportunity sets, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of elements in opportunity sets. This paper presents an axiomatic characterization of a nonconsequentialist extended preference whose opportunity evaluation is based on the leximax ordering.