As an important concept in contemporary distributive justice, “desert” has a long history. “Desert” in Aristotle and other thinkers in ancient Greece is similar to “merit” in modern English, referring to public positions based on virtue. On the contrary, “desert” in modern society means the deserving primary social goods according to the action of a rational individual. The paradigm transformation from ancient “merit” to modern “deserve” is closely related to the Enlightenment. In the 20th century, further discussion has been carried out with the distinction between “desert” and “anti-desert” made by John Rawls and other thinkers. Contemporary discussion on “desert” has also extended to intergenerational desert and global desert.