THE IDEA OF JUSTICE SEN AM. Księgarnia

Social justice: an ideal, forever beyond our grasp; or one of many practical possibilities? More than a matter of intellectual discourse, the idea of justice plays a real role in how—and how well—people live. And in this book the distinguished scholar Amartya Sen offers a powerful critique of the theory of social justice that, in its grip on social and political thinking, has long left practical realities far behind.

The transcendental theory of justice, the subject of Sen’s analysis, flourished in the Enlightenment and has proponents among some of the most distinguished philosophers of our day; it is concerned with identifying perfectly just social arrangements, defining the nature of the perfectly just society. The approach Sen favors, on the other hand, focuses on the comparative judgments of what is “more” or “less” just, and on the comparative merits of the different societies that actually emerge from certain institutions and social interactions.

At the heart of Sen’s argument is a respect for reasoned differences in our understanding of what a “just society” really is. People of different persuasions—for example, utilitarians, economic egalitarians, labor right theorists, no-nonsense libertarians—might each reasonably see a clear and straightforward resolution to questions of justice; and yet, these clear and straightforward resolutions would be completely different. In light of this, Sen argues for a comparative perspective on justice that can guide us in the choice between alternatives that we inevitably face.

Library Journal

Nobel Prize winner in economics, Sen (Development as Freedom) is also an eminent philosopher. Here, he uses his skill in both disciplines to criticize prevailing theories of justice and to propose a replacement. John Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971) is the most famous example of what Sen calls a transcendental theory, describing an ideal state of affairs. This does not tell us what to do in our imperfect world; for that, he argues, a comparative theory is needed, ranking various possible outcomes. To consider only wealth or add an estimate of happiness is inadequate. In addition, the capabilities of people to achieve good lives need to be assessed. Following Rawls, Sen stresses public reason, a type of democratic deliberation that emphasizes reasonable agreements among people with different conceptions of the good. Throughout the book, Sen's wide historical knowledge is put to good use. VERDICT This is an essential book; it sums up and extends the contributions of one of the world's leading thinkers about justice.—David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., OH

Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, is Lamont University Professor, Harvard University.

496 pages, Hardcover

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