Neoliberal Social Justice: Rawls Unveiled - New Thinking in Political Economy series (Hardback)

Nick Cowen (author)

£90.00

Hardback Published: 09/04/2021

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Synopsis

This timely and provocative book challenges the conventional wisdom that neoliberal capitalism is incompatible with social justice. Employing public choice and market process theory, Nick Cowen systematically compares and contrasts capitalism with socialist alternatives, illustrating how proponents of social justice have decisive reasons to opt for a capitalism guided by neoliberal ideas.

Cowen shows how general rules of property and voluntary exchange facilitate widespread cooperation. Revisiting the works of John Rawls, he offers an interdisciplinary reconciliation of Rawlsian principles with liberal democracy by introducing 'robust property-owning democracy', a new form of governance that aims to achieve social justice via practical, liberal means. Chapters address the knowledge problem and the incentive problem that emerge when aiming for a fair distribution of social resources and demonstrate how everyday political bargaining can help achieve just outcomes for all.

Utilising insights from philosophy, politics and economics to show the role of market institutions and constitutional government in producing social justice, this book is crucial reading for academics, researchers and students of PPE and the political sciences. Its practical policy proposals will further benefit policymakers interested in mechanisms that spread the benefits of economic growth equitably.

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 9781800374539
Dimensions: 234 x 156 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

’Neoliberal Social Justice brings important considerations like the knowledge problem and entrepreneurial discovery into debates about how the just society “should” be organized. The result is an analysis and set of public policy recommendations that are much more classically liberal than the ones that have emerged from the Rawlsian tradition. Economic liberties, Cowen argues, are a lot more “basic” than many political philosophers seem to think, and utopia—to paraphrase Georgetown University political philosopher Jason Brennan’s Why Not Capitalism?—is classically liberal.’ ’It’s a very compelling and persuasive book, and it’s a very important contribution to how we think about inequality and institutions.’ ‘Nick Cowen’s Neoliberal Social Justice can be regarded as an intellectual accomplishment. It not only contributes significantly to the growing research sub-field of PPE, but provides unique insights with regard to collective decision-making and the formulation of rules for an economic–socio–political order that works for all people. This book is required reading for all those interested in the pursuit of a freer and fairer world.’

‘To sum up, Neoliberal Social Justice is an important book, and I hope it receives the attention that it is due. Cowen makes two contributions that should change the discourse surrounding the ever-present Rawls and his theory of justice. First, for those who choose to work within ideal theory, Cowen shows that Rawls’s theory of justice is not as hostile to markets as initially seems to be the case. There are compelling arguments for a greater reliance on markets even if one accepts the ideal theorist’s sanguine behavioral assumptions. And second, for those who walk the relatively uncharted terrain of non-ideal theory, there is still much in Rawls to hold on to. Rawls’s theory can be made to work within the confines of more realistic behavioral assumptions, but the institutional implications of doing so are far different from what Rawls and his followers anticipated.’ 'Neoliberal Social Justice is a remarkable book. Nick Cowen shows that John Rawls's normative commitments, if complemented by institutional and market-process economics, actually support classical liberal public policies. This is a unique and extremely valuable achievement.' 'The problem any political group faces is how to generate morally binding political choice that somehow reconciles the conflicting plans and purposes of many citizens. The ''first-wave'' Rawlsians argued that consensus necessarily emerges from the reasoned consideration of shared goals. The ''second-wave'', including Tom Christiano, Gerald Gaus, and others, used Rawlsian methods but amended Rawls's conclusions, suggesting concrete procedures by which a binding consensus could be generated. In this book, Cowen proposes a novel third approach: expand Rawls's approach to incorporate the limitations of real political arrangements to solve the problem of discovery and incentives. Cowen's conclusion, that even - and perhaps especially - doctrinaire Rawlsians should support liberal institutions such as market systems and capitalist profit and loss, is sure to generate controversy. But the book is well-argued, and the argument is firmly situated in substantive arguments in political philosophy. Cowen's work is a landmark in our understanding of the relationship between ethical theories and practical politics.' 'From Rousseau and Smith to John Rawls and Milton Friedman, liberalism has wished humans to be equal. In his closely argued yet lucid book, Nick Cowen melds the left and right of liberalism. Such an equality requires a plausible theory of what’s economically and politically possible. This Cowen elegantly supplies.'