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Why did Rawls make people ignorant of their wealth, status, and personal traits behind the veil of ignorance?

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state of nature English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, oil painting by John Michael Wright, c. 1669–70; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

In his work A Theory of Justice, John Rawls utilizes the veil of ignorance as a heuristic device to ensure impartiality when choosing principles of justice.12

By making individuals ignorant of their personal traits—such as their wealth, social class, race, sex, intelligence, and talents—Rawls prevents them from being influenced by self-interested desires to favor the specific groups to which they belong. Because participants do not know their own position in society, they cannot design principles that benefit themselves at the expense of others.3456

This "original position" forces rational individuals to consider the interests of all members of society, as they must safeguard themselves against the worst possible outcomes. Consequently, this thought experiment encourages the selection of fair principles that protect basic liberties for everyone and ensure that social and economic inequalities benefit the least-advantaged members of society.653