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The purpose of this essay is to review the literature devoted to distributive justice in the Rawlsian tradition of political philosophy, with a concern for the treatment of the notion of responsibility. After reviewing the theory of Rawls – founding theory of modern egalitarianism – which advocates equalization of some social goods, we present Sen’s approach which emphasizes “capabilities to function” for individuals in society. The egalitarian view of Kolm is underlined too. The theories of equality of resources (including innate talents and handicaps) of Dworkin and of “real-freedom-for-all” of van Parijs are highlighted for then surveying recent equality-of-opportunity theories developed by authors such as Arneson, Cohen, Roemer, Fleurbaey or Bossert. Classification JEL: D39, D63