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Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like?

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Funder reveals how O’Shaughnessy Blair self-effacingly supported Orwell intellectually, emotionally, medically and financially ... why didn’t Orwell do the same for his wife in her equally serious time of need?’ As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating intervention, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today. Taking Rawls's humane and egalitarian liberalism as his starting point, Chandler builds a careful and ultimately irresistible case for a progressive agenda that would fundamentally reshape our societies for the better. Free and Equal has the potential not only to transform contemporary debate, but to offer a touchstone for a modern, egalitarian liberalism for many years to come, cementing Rawls’s place in political discourse, and firmly establishing Chandler as a vital new voice for our time. Invaluable... Chandler takes a set of universal principles around fairness, based on the philosophy of John Rawls, and applies them to the real world of liberal democracy -- Sir Vince Cable, former leader of the Liberal Democrats The novelty and value is supposed to come from his ability to connect these proposals to Rawls’ moral framework and vision. Unfortunately, Rawls’ relevance to the second half of the book does not live up to the star billing he receives in the first. While chapters are themed around Rawls’ principles of justice, many of the policy recommendations are better described as loosely inspired by Rawls’ values rather than directly applying them.

The writing of utopias has fallen out of fashion, whether because we are jaded, pessimistic about the chances of realising even a fraction of proposals that might be considered utopian, or for some other reason. Free and Equal is a breath of fresh air, therefore. It is unabashedly utopian in its proposals for social, economic, political and educational change. It is nonetheless perfectly realistic in the sense that few or none of Daniel Chandler’s proposals for a better world would be impossible to bring about if we had the gumption to try to do so. BORN FREE AND EQUAL: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE LOYAL JAPANESE-AMERICANS AT MANZANAR RELOCATION CENTER INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA A tremendous book, timely, wise, authoritative and clear' Stephen Fry'A brilliantly eloquent, incredibly insightful reimagining of liberalism' Owen Jones'Clear, brave, compelling' David Miliband'Inspiring ... impassioned ... full of hope' Zadie Smith'This is a fantastic book' Thomas PikettyImagine: you are designing a society, but you don't know who you'll be within it - rich or poor, man or woman, gay or straight. An exceptionally sane, judicious essay on what a viable democracy entails... [Chandler] develops a realistic, humane - and in its way, revolutionary - vision of a society committed to equity, inclusion and accountability. It should become an indispensable tool in political debate in the years ahead -- Rowan Williams While the impact of John Rawls’ work on (English-language) political philosophy in the post-war era can hardly be overstated, the same cannot be said of the sphere of public policy. Why is it so has probably a lot to do with both the complexity and rather theoretical nature of the argument, which can be quite puzzling - I remember one conversation with a prominent economist and deputy governor of a central bank in my home country about how “he is fine with the more philosophical approaches to social policy, like from Amartya Sen, but always gets lost around Rawls”. I don’t blame him.A rousing and original argument against hopelessness which will convince even the most jaded among us that a better public debate and a more just world are indeed within reach -- Ryan Avent A robust and inspiring case for the philosophy of John Rawls, dragging his theory of justice down from Harvard's ivory towers and This is superb work, in both explaining Rawls for general readers and in applying Rawlsian principles to contemporary problems of social and political justice ... It is impressive - clear, concise, thorough, and accessible -- Professor Samuel Freeman, author of Rawls and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Rawls

For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. The most interesting aspects of the theoretical justifications of these principles for me are the coherent structure of assessing which basic rights take precedence over others (with the general idea being those that are the most necessary for the development and preservation of the political community and liberty on individual and collective level through “public reason”, so greatest benefit for anyone in the society) and the very interesting nature of the difference principle. While the author highlights the just savings principle, as a justification for environmental policy, conservation and limiting of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is the different principle that I believe can be the most revolutionary, if adopted as a part of the presented structure of coherent set of ideas and principles. Taking Rawls’s humane and egalitarian liberalism as his starting point, Chandler builds a careful and ultimately irresistible case for a progressive agenda that would fundamentally reshape our societies for the better. I enjoyed reading this book, but it is rather odd and I wish it was different. The premise is to provide example applications of Rawls' philosophy to improve society (with a particular focus on the UK and US). As such the first couple of chapters explain the philosophy - essentially that there exist a set of universal basic liberties which the society must guarantee to every citizen, and then anything else is fair game so long as it doesn't infringe the basic liberties and its extent is such to maximize quality of life for the least well off. For example, following Rawls, a society may allow a certain amount of wealth inequality to encourage growth and innovation, but as soon as this is damaging to the least well off the wealth should be redistributed. Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shownAn uplifting vision of a new, egalitarian liberalism, and a bold practical programme for how we can reinvigorate democracy and transform capitalism Free and Equal is a book of two halves. The first half is an admirably clear exposition of Rawls’ central ideas. It lays out his conception of a fair society: one in which basic freedoms are protected, genuinely fair equality of opportunity is secured, and, beyond that, the economic structure prioritises the needs of the most disadvantaged. It is perfectly pitched for a non-specialist audience, and I would happily assign the book as reading if I were teaching Rawls to undergraduates. Chandler highlights ideas easily missed or misunderstood in Rawls that are particularly salient today, like his emphasis on intergenerational justice and his recognition that economic inequalities are about power and status as well as wealth and income.

This is a book brimming with hope and possibility – a galvanising alternative to the cynicism that pervades our politics. Very good read. Clear and informative with many practical policy implications. Part of an Overton window shift? Let's hope so. Imagine: you are designing a society, but you don't know who you'll be within it - rich or poor, man or woman, gay or straight. What would you want that society to look like? The first part of his book is a fine elucidation of Rawls’s ideas and critical responses to them, which will be familiar to most philosophy undergraduates. It is the second part, though, in which Chandler applies Rawls’s ideas to our current plight, where things get exciting. He derides Jeremy Corbyn’s 2019 manifesto as a wishlist rather than a coherent programme, but his ideas are also a wishlist, albeit underpinned by the Rawlsian conception of justice as fairness, and more committed to the continuation of market economics and capitalism than Corbyn would countenance.

It is a claim that will likely raise eyebrows even within the discipline. When I interviewed Marc Stears, a political theorist who left a post at the University of Oxford to be an adviser to the then Labour leader Ed Miliband, he listed Rawls among the thinkers he left behind in the ivory tower: ‘There was no day where a bit of Rawls helped me’. The arguments in Free and Equal suggest that statement was a little too hasty and dismissive – demonstrating how Rawls can be used to speak to modern political issues. Yet the book falls short of demonstrating Rawls’ theories are anything like necessary or essential, and that they can provide the sort of holistic vision Chandler thinks we need. This is a morally steadfast book, which liberalism's honest opponents should take for their target, and which will enliven liberal theory and perhaps even reinvigorate liberal political practice -- Daniel Markovits Eileen M Hunt: Feminism vs Big Brother - Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder; Julia by Sandra Newman Clear, brave, compelling. This book shows how to put values at the heart of politics in a rigorous way, and is an important contribution to the future of progressive politics -- David Miliband Born Free and Equal Photographs of the Loyal Japanese-Americans at Manzanar Relocation Center Inyo County, California

A magnificent attempt to apply fundamental philosophical principles to the practical building of a better world. Far-reaching and well-evidenced, it offers a new, coherent, principles-based approach to policy design Professor Lord Richard Layard This is the revolutionary thought experiment proposed by the twentieth century's greatest political philosopher, John Rawls. As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating intervention, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today.In this very timely and refreshing book, Daniel Chandler argues that rather than abandon liberalism we must reimagine it. Free and Equal asks big questions about how human society should be organised, and offers answers all of us should take seriously, whatever our politics Jesse Norman MP This is the revolutionary thought experiment proposed by the twentieth century’s greatest political philosopher, John Rawls. As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating intervention, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today.

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