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Thomas Pogge's Rawlsian Revival*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2010

Anita M. Superson
Affiliation:
Kansas State University

Extract

In Realizing Rawls, Thomas Pogge defends a Rawlsian conception of justice. The book is divided into three main parts; this discussion will concentrate on the first two. Part 1 constitutes a defence of some aspects of Rawls's theory against objections raised by Nozick and Michael Sandel. This is followed by a second part on the two principles of justice—what they amount to, and some applications of them. Part 3 argues that the Rawlsian scheme should apply globally, not merely to a single state (i.e., the principles of justice should govern the entire world, not just one society). Readers will find Pogge's book very detailed and well organized (arguments are separated into numbered sections and subsections). Pogge defends his claims with numerous helpful references to Rawls and his critics. His is a serious book, though I found the pace to be a bit slow at times, mostly because a lot of time is spent examining alternative interpretations before rejecting them.

Type
Critical Notices/Études critiques
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 1991

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References

Notes

1 He relies not only on Rawls's A Theory of Justice (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971), but on other works by Rawls, as well.Google Scholar

2 Pogge raises this objection in his discussion on Sandel, as we shall see.

3 P. 168. Pogge argues that Rawls is ambiguous as to what the opportunity principle is, and suggests this as the best reading.