This is an appropriate tribute to John Rawls who died in 2002. Rawls’s contribution to the philosophical underpinnings of social and political justice has been profound, above all in works like A Theory of Justice (Rawls, 1999a) and Political Liberalism (Rawls, 1996). This Companion, like others in the series, opens up a complex writer both to newcomers (who will find it a fascinating introduction) and specialists (who will find the scope representative and many of the analyses well‐chosen and written by reliable guides). Rawls theory of justice is one based on the question: “What is the most appropriate moral conception of justice for a democratic society?”. He pursues this into two famous “principles”, equal rights and liberties, and fair equality of opportunity. Built into these is the famous difference principle about advantaging the less fortunate, a contractarian argument that public reason between free and equal citizens underwrites a liberal democracy, and that egalitarian outcomes are achievable with reasonable reciprocity. That is what we know we know, yet a careful reading of this Companion will reveal greater complexity and send readers back to the text.
Samuel Freeman, a professor of philosophy and law at the University of Pennsylvania and editor of Rawls’s Collected Papers (1999b), has organized this collection well. His own introduction summarizes Rawls’s achievement and signposts into the book. Thomas Nagel identifies where and how Rawls’s work has provoked controversy (its difference from utilitarianism, the interpretation and implications of the difference principle, and the development of his ideas over time). Joshua Cohen probes the aetiology of the concept of “democracy”, more complex than many of Rawls’s readers think, and T.M. Scanlon analyses the justification Rawls has for his position. Amy Gutman evaluates the relationship between liberalism and democracy and asks plenty of questions worth adapting by lecturers as discussion points for students. Other papers examine the economic implications of the theory of justice, are Rawls’s views really egalitarian and/or communitarian and/or utilitarian?, to what extent did Kant influence Rawls (certainly in what he predicates about reason) (Rawls wrote on Kant)?, what is the fit between Rawls’s theory of justice (interesting links between contractarianism, justice, and legislation), and the feminist critique (from Martha Nussbaum)? Chapters complement each other well, overlap is minimal, and the level (accessible for beginners, interesting for specialists) is maintained. For each chapter there is an extensive annotated set of references.
All but three contributors are from the USA, where Rawls’s influence has been greatest, and an international perspective, merely implied in the excellent bibliography (works by and about and on), could then have been developed. Perhaps for another book. It would have been good, too, to include a systematic study of Rawls vis‐à‐vis the rights‐based approach to law and ethics, but again perhaps for another book, and (even though the index helps a bit here) to have separated out an ethical perspective. This addition to a well‐established series will go into any self‐respecting collection in the field, institutional (university/college and professional) and personal, and the paperback is certainly a perfect gift for a student at the right time. Well‐bound and elegantly type‐set, with a superb index, this Companion adds to a literature on Rawls that is likely to grow a lot more in the future, with, I hope, more attention in the sphere of public policy. Very useful.
