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

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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. In the UK, legislators do not spend as much time raising money for the next round of elections as they do in the USA, but they are amenable to the blandishments of those who provide them with second jobs or lobbyists who pay well for a friendly word in the right ear. What is to be done? One really radical proposal is to institute Athenian-style democracy – to choose parliaments through some form of random selection, creating a high probability that these assemblies will be truly representative. Chandler is less bold. He thinks, perhaps optimistically, that political parties are indispensable to democracy, formulating policy and championing their preferred causes. To avoid their capture by the folk with money and jobs to offer, he would forbid the private financing of parties and place the burden on the taxpayer instead. If we are really serious about creating a free and equal society, at least some of the ideas Chandler suggests are necessary. Whether the next Labour government has the bottle to put them into practice is another matter.

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?This is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of the left, and indeed the future of liberal democracy Jon Cruddas MP What would you want that society to look like? This is the revolutionary thought experiment proposed by the twentieth century's greatest political philosopher, John Rawls.

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 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? A beautifully clear, inspiring, wise book with the potential not only to reinvent liberalism, but to transform our societies for the better Johann Hari Rawls’ core ideas – that we should protect basic freedoms, promote equality of opportunity and improve the lot of the disadvantaged – do not represent such a radical break from the status quo

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While reading Huxley's Brave New World for my high-school English class, I obtained my very first serious interest: 'what would a good society look like?'. This book presents the best answer I've seen since I began studying economics and philosophy. Based on the work of egalitarian liberal philosopher John Rawls (which this book explains and defends, before focusing on its applications), this vision is far more attractive and intelligent than existing or proposed alternatives. After the abject failure of neoliberalism, we need a principled policy framework and handbook like this to move toward a society that is truly free, equal and prosperous. It's also heart-warming to see some of the world's leading economists (Angus Deaton, Amartya Sen) celebrate such a progressive and transformative Rawlsian agenda. A crisp exposition of Rawls's principles ... skipping freely between gritty evidence and high theory, and grappling impressively and impatiently with practical obstacles to change ... Chandler is reminiscent of his one-time teacher, Amartya Sen Prospect In Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like? Daniel Chandler considers how the work of twentieth-century philosopher John Rawls could inform policymaking to build a fairer society with reduced inequality and a more democratic political system. The book expounds Rawls’ theory in admirably clear prose but begs the question whether the work of other thinkers might be more effective in mobilising citizens and policymakers to effect meaningful change, writes Aveek Bhattacharya.