Title : What is a Just Society? Introduction to the Practice of Political Philosophy - Philippe Van Parijs - book

Summary :

No, invective and exegesis are not the only registers of political philosophy. It is not necessary, to be relevant, to become a pamphleteer, any more than it is required, to be respectable, to transform oneself into an interpreter. There is another way of doing political philosophy, one that responds to the world's challenges without renouncing the demands of the mind. The primary objective of this book is to show it at work.

To achieve this goal, Philippe Van Parijs presents here the essential references of contemporary Anglo-Saxon political philosophy, of which he himself is a protagonist. He situates the classics, from Rawls and Nozick to Dworkin and Gauthier. He describes the main currents, from ordinal utilitarianism to analytical Marxism. And he explains the fundamental notions, from Pareto-optimality to the criterion of no-envy, from the maximin to the Lockean clause, from Arrow's impossibility theorem to Roemer's theory of exploitation. But above all, he himself adopts the approach on which he argues. He puts forward theses and critiques others, elucidates controversies, resolves paradoxes, refutes objections – all this while adopting, in the face of libertarians as well as Marxists, liberals as well as communitarians, a sympathetic critical attitude that allows for dialogue without banishing convictions.

Beyond a dense, clear and competent presentation of contemporary theories of justice, this book constitutes a lively and committed initiative in the practice of political philosophy today.

• Please note that some pages have been highlighted with highlighter or pencil, but this does not interfere with reading.
• EAN: 9782020131162
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• Book in good condition
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