[These essays are] some of [Rawls's] strongest published
expressions of feeling...These are the final products of a
remarkably pure and concentrated career...The writings of John
Rawls, whom it is now safe to describe as the most important
political philosopher of the twentieth century...owe their
influence to the fact that their depth and their insight repay the
close attention that their uncompromising theoretical weight and
erudition demand.--Thomas Nagel "New Republic "
Now, in an effort to turn realpolitik on its big, bald head, Rawls
in "The Law of Peoples" proposes to extend his historicist,
pragmatic notions of justice to the larger world of 'peoples'--the
term he prefers to 'nations.' He lays out a series of general
principles--among them, that peoples are free and independent,
should honor human rights, and should observe a duty of
nonintervention--that can and should be accepted as a standard for
regulating their behavior toward one another. Without the slightest
hint of millenarian fever, he goes so far as to assert that we
stand on the brink of a 'realistic utopia'..."The Law of Peoples"
seems likely to reframe the debate about what is possible in the
international realm. In contrast to the chastened, inward gaze of
most 20th-century thought, Rawls's book is one of those rare works
of philosophy that directs its energies outward. It has the
potential to send shockingly optimistic reverberations through the
world at large, and maybe even jolt
Rawls offers us the appealing vision of a social order that every
citizen finds legitimate despite large differences in their
personal values. In "The Law of Peoples", he attempts a parallel
feat for global society. He tries to spell out a Law of Peoples
that both liberal and non-liberal peoples can agree upon to govern
their international relations. This involves steering a judicious
mid-course between liberalism's imperialist and isolationist
tendencies...I should say straight away that this is the most
engaging and accessible book Rawls has written. Although some of
the daunting conceptual apparatus from "Political Liberalism"
appears from time to time, for the most part Rawls lays out his
argument in a straightforward way, and refers extensively to
historical and contemporary episodes to illustrate it.--David
Miller "Times Literary Supplement "
ÝThese essays are¨ some of ÝRawls's¨ strongest published
expressions of feeling...These are the final products of a
remarkably pure and concentrated career...The writings of John
Rawls, whom it is now safe to describe as the most important
political philosopher of the twentieth century...owe their
influence to the fact that their depth and their insight repay the
close attention that their uncompromising theoretical weight and
erudition demand. -- Thomas Nagel "New Republic"
John Rawls is one of the great political philosophers of the 20th
century...His ideas have not only sparked a lively debate among
philosophers, which continues to this day, but they have also been
taken up by economists, sociologists and others. So "The Law of
Peoples," Mr. Rawls's latest work and probably his last significant
effort, deserves to be read with interest, and some respect.
Why should we care whether Rawls has modified his difference
principle so that it avoids unpopular outcomes? In the course of
doing so, he advances some excellent arguments.
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