Rescuing Justice and Equality

G. A. Cohen

Published by Harvard University Press 2008

Rescuing Justice and Equality

G. A. Cohen

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674262713

Overview
Contents

About this book

In this work of political philosophy, Cohen sets out to rescue the egalitarian thesis that in a society where distributive justice prevails, people’s material prospects are roughly equal. Arguing against the Rawlsian version of a just society, Cohen demonstrates that distributive justice does not tolerate deep inequality.

Reviews

With his characteristic brilliance and philosophical depth, G.A. Cohen aims to defend a more pure equality and justice by retrieving them from Rawlsian liberalism. The result is a bracing challenge to contemporary complacency about inequality.
-- Joshua Cohen, Stanford University

This book is easily the deepest and most sophisticated critical work on Rawls's theory of justice. It brings together several distinct lines of argument that Cohen has been developing over the past two decades. In so doing, it manages to provide both a detailed and intricate critique of Rawls's approach to economic distribution and, at the same time, to articulate and defend a different way of thinking about the fundamental questions of economic distribution.
-- Arthur Ripstein, University of Toronto

Many liberals favor a relatively permissive attitude to economic inequality, and do so partly because they assume the egalitarian values governing our political decisions are inapplicable to our more everyday decisions. Focusing on the work of John Rawls, Rescuing Justice and Equality subjects such liberal convictions to a critique of unrivaled depth and brilliance, which will enhance our understanding of one the greatest political philosophers, and stimulate debate for years to come.
-- Andrew Williams, University of Warwick

This masterful work is written with a remarkable combination of passion, verve, and analytical rigor. It presents a formidable challenge to Rawlsian liberalism and is a major contribution to the development of egalitarian political thought.
-- Samuel Scheffler, New York University

Rescuing Justice and Equality is an exceptionally rich and challenging work. Cohen develops his ideas with a remarkable degree of ingenuity, subtlety, and textual attentiveness. Furthermore, they are presented with extraordinary clarity...[An] impressive book.
-- Michael Rosen Times Literary Supplement

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
SHORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
LONG TABLE OF CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I RESCUING EQUALITY FROM . . .
1 THE INCENTIVES ARGUMENT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
2 THE PARETO ARGUMENT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
3 THE BASIC STRUCTURE OBJECTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
4 THE DIFFERENCE PRINCIPLE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
5 THE FREEDOM OBJECTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
II RESCUING JUSTICE FROM . . .
6 THE FACTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
7 CONSTRUCTIVISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	274
8 THE PUBLICITY ARGUMENT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	344
GENERAL APPENDIX: REPLIES TO CRITICS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	413
CREDITS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	422
NAME INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	423
SUBJECT INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	425

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 448

eBook

Published: December 15, 2008
ISBN: 9780674262713