Spheres of Justice - by Michael Walzer (Paperback)

About the Book

"The distinguished political philosopher and author of the widely acclaimed Just and Unjust Wars analyzes how society distributes not just wealth and power but other social "goods" like honor, educat"

Book Synopsis

A classic of twentieth-century political thought on the nature of justice.

"This is a humane and hopeful vision, and Mr. Walzer conveys it with a wry and gentle grace." ―New York Times Book Review

In this landmark work, Michael Walzer makes the provocative claim that the real enemy of a just society is not inequality itself but domination--the quiet way that wealth turns into power and power into deference until an advantage in one corner of life rules over the others. Walzer offers instead a vision of what he calls complex equality, which requires that we recognize that justice is not one thing but many. Each social good, whether money or education or even love, belongs to its own sphere and follows its own rule. Society, he argues, can be just only when no one can parlay their advantages in one sphere to dominate their fellow citizens. Eschewing abstract first principles and working from the shared understandings of real communities, Spheres of Justice remains one of the most compelling challenges to abstract universalism ever written.

From the Back Cover

The distinguished political philosopher and author of the widely acclaimed Just and Unjust Wars analyzes how society distributes note just wealth and power but other social 'goods' like honor, education, work, free time--even love.

Review Quotes

"A book which bridges philosophy and social policy in the most engaging and fruitful way... the foundation of a new, emergent liberalism."--Daniel Bell, Harvard University

"Michael Walzer is something of a national treasure.... the theory that he develops marks a major contribution to the debate over how to fashion a just society." --Boston Globe

"This brilliant book.... will transform the debate about distributive justice beyond all recognition."--Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, McGill University

"This is a humane and hopeful vision, and Mr. Walzer conveys it with a wry and gentle grace."--New York Times Book Review

"Walzer presents a sophisticated new theory of equality and supports it by surveying an extraordinarily rich array of social and political ideologies and arrangements.... Fascinating and important."--Judith Jarvis Thomson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

About the Author

Michael Walzer is Professor Emeritus of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and the author of many widely heralded books, including Just and Unjust Wars and Exodus and Revolution. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.