Political Liberalism (Columbia Classics in Philosophy)

Rawls attempts to find a single point of measurement for liberalism in this book. But unless we have the room or time to have a proper debate this book should only be reviewed in light of the contribution it makes. A theory of justice set the scene for a liberal revival in 70's but this book is about reflecting on the criticisms he received and incorporating them once agian into a logical and systematic progression of thoguht. The failrue of some is to think that this is supposed to BE Liberalism - this misses the point all liberal thinkers are merely contributions to a ever modified debate. A more radical view would be to counter the notion of progressive history and suggest that this firmly shifts the basis for Liberal thoguht. This book is imperotant becasue it allows Liberalism to carry on - We have this much to be thankful for.

Rawls' 1971 'A Theory of Justice' changed 20th century political thought. This book modifies his initial discussion somewhat, partly in light of criticism. For example, he no longer describes a social contract between 'heads of households' and makes a more explicit attempt to include women. The centre of his argument, however, is that a stable society needs a reasonable 'overlapping consenses' on values. He puts forward an argument for justice that is 'political, not metaphysical' and argues for state neutrality between competing conceptions of the good (rejecting his 'comprehensive doctrine'). Any follow-up to A Theory of Justice from Rawls is bound to be important and influential, and for that reason I recommend it. I only give 3* because I didn't find it as interesting as A Theory of Justice or think it corrected all the faults with his system. Indeed his notion of a neutral political liberalism seems as flawed as his Original Position.

John Rawls is an extraordinary modern political philosopher. "Political Liberalism" is book that lays out Rawls theory of the "Reasonable Society". In what can best be described as great novel like prose, Rawls lays out his formula for getting Homo Sapiens to a Reasonable Society. A Reasonable Society is contrasted by Rawls to that of a Rational Society. While on the surface these two concepts appear to be indistinguishable, they are in fact a good deal different. A Rational Society is one that is predicated upon logic as its defining concept. A Reasonable Society on the other hand goes beyond this narrower concept of society and adds the idea of man posing a kind of morality in addition to his rational pre-disposition. Rawls theory as presented in Political Liberalism" is well written and tightly argued in the best tradition of both modern and ancient philosophers. With "Political Liberalism" Rawls take the theories of some our greatest political philosophers and makes a significant contribution to extending their work. This book is so well written, it can be read and enjoyed by just about anyone. If you ever wondered why or democratic institutions no longer seem to work, where the politics of conflict seem the only realty, when you want to know what makes this country so unique and which holds such promise for the rest of the world, you will see these concepts in a engaging read. Highly recommend.

Here, Rawls tries to improve his argument of "justice as fairness" in "A Theory of Justice" posing it as actually a (one of the most) valid perspective under a political liberalism, in order to ensure equal rights and freedom in a democratic constitutional cooperative society. I would recommend that the first-time interested reader to get a glimpse at "A Theory of justice" (at least the first part) before this one, for a better understanding of his root ideas; for even though it covers most of the TJ's concepts, it does in a form of "restatement" to forfeit the adaptation of his theory due to the flaws he noticed in the first book. But even for the first time reader, it might seem somewhat easy to understand basically what he is trying to say. One of the greatest books of one of the greatest thinkers, not to say philosophers or politicians of our time. A must-have for anyone regarding subjects from law and democracy to morals and philosophy in general.

Otherwise difficult and expensive item to purchase and have delivered. Good condition, competitive price ( no postage fee) and quick delivery

Great for philosophy, politics, law students. This is considered a primary (must-read) text in many disciplines and, although repetitive at times, is fairly accessible and not difficult to get through. Rawls had a big vision.

This book is indispensable for understanding contemporary political philosophy. It doesn't replace A THEORY OF JUSTICE for understanding Rawl's theory of justice (but it wasn't meant to), but it is key to understanding the debate between, for example, Rawls (and political liberalism in general) and perfectionism. This book also includes many of Rawls's answers to criticism of his theory as presented in A THEORY OF JUSTICE.