''Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality'' is a 1983 book by the philosopher
Michael Walzer
Michael Laban Walzer (born 1935) is an American political theorist and public intellectual. A professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, he is editor emeritus of ''Dissent'', an intellectual magazine ...
.
Summary
Walzer argues in favour of an idea he calls "
complex equality Complex equality is a theory of justice outlined by Michael Walzer in his 1983 work ''Spheres of Justice''. It is considered innovative because of its emphasis on the broader conceptualization of distribution, which covers not only tangible goods bu ...
", and against the view that
goods
In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants
and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...
with different meaning and content can be lumped together into the larger category of ''primary goods'', as is advocated by
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...
, in his ''
A Theory of Justice
''A Theory of Justice'' is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributiv ...
'' (1971).
Reception
''Spheres of Justice'' has, together with ''
Just and Unjust Wars
''Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations'' is a 1977 book by the philosopher Michael Walzer. Published by Basic Books, it is still in print, now as part of the Basic Books Classics Series. A second edition was publis ...
'' (1977) and ''
Interpretation and Social Criticism
''Interpretation and Social Criticism'' is a 1987 book about political philosophy by Michael Walzer.
Reception
''Interpretation and Social Criticism'' has, together with ''Just and Unjust Wars'' (1977) and ''Spheres of Justice'' (1983), been ident ...
'' (1987), been identified as one of Walzer's most important works by the philosopher
Will Kymlicka
William Kymlicka (; born 1962) is a Canadian political philosopher best known for his work on multiculturalism and animal ethics. He is currently Professor of Philosophy and Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy at Queen's University ...
.
[ Kymlicka 2005, p. 952.]
References
Bibliography
*
External links
preview through Google Books(large images)
1983 non-fiction books
Basic Books books
Books by Michael Walzer
Books in political philosophy
English-language books
{{Poli-philo-book-stub