Liberalism and the Limits of Justice
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Michael Sandel |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Liberalism |
| Published | 1982 (Cambridge University Press) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 231 |
| ISBN | 978-0521567411 |
Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982; second edition 1998) is a book about political philosophy by Michael Sandel.[1] The work helped start the liberalism-communitarianism debate that dominated Anglo-American political philosophy in the 1980s.
Summary
Sandel criticizes the social democratic liberals John Rawls and Ronald Dworkin, arguing that their views rest on anti-liberal collectivist foundations and are incompatible with the elements of liberal individualism they espouse. He offers a communitarian critique of liberalism, arguing that individuals are constituted by their communities and the obligations that follow from being part of them.[2] Sandel discusses and criticizes Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971), examining Rawls' claim for the primacy of justice.[3] Partly inspired by Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), Sandel argues that Rawls bases his political philosophy on an untenable metaphysics of the self.[4] In his view, Rawls' philosophy shares the metaphysical assumptions of Kantian ethics, in which a purely noumenal self that is detached from all empirical constraints somehow retains motives that enable it to make choices.[5]
Scholarly reception
Philosopher Will Kymlicka writes that Liberalism and the Limits of Justice is Sandel's best-known book, and helped start the liberalism-communitarianism debate that dominated Anglo-American political philosophy in the 1980s.[6] Philosopher Jonathan Wolff writes that Sandel provides the fullest development of the argument, which other writers have also made, that Rawls bases his political philosophy on an untenable metaphysics of the self.[4]
References
Footnotes
- ↑ Sandel 1998, p. iv.
- ↑ Boaz 1998, pp. 449-450.
- ↑ Sandel 1998, p. 15.
- 1 2 Wolff 1991, pp. 121.
- ↑ Scruton 1994, pp. 321, 411.
- ↑ Kymlicka 1995, pp. 788.
Bibliography
- Books
- Boaz, David (1998). Boaz, David, ed. The Libertarian Reader: Classic and contemporary writings from Lao-tzu to Milton Friedman. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 0-684-84767-1.
- Kymlicka, Will (1995). Honderich, Ted, ed. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866132-0.
- Sandel, Michael (1998). Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56741-6.
- Scruton, Roger (1994). Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation. London: Phoenix. ISBN 1-85799-100-1.
- Wolff, Jonathan (1991). Robert Nozick: Property, Justice and the Minimal State. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1856-3.
External links
- Mark Sagoff, "Review: The Limits of Justice" Yale Law Journal May, 1983
- Wes Alwan, "The Incoherence of Michael Sandel's Critique of Liberalism" The Partially Examined Life October 21, 2015
- Daniel Bell, "Communitarianism" Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2012