A resounding endorsement of Rawls’ philosophy and a complex recipe for something better than what we have now.
A student of the philosopher John Rawls applies his ideas to a brand of politics capable of shaping a “good society.”
By London School of Economics professor Chandler’s account, Rawls is “the towering figure of twentieth-century political thought.” The principles that he promoted are thoroughly constructive, pointing to a liberalism that is not hidebound but instead “a broad and evolving intellectual and political tradition,” accounting for other evolutions. Rawls’ liberalism stands firm on cooperation, reciprocity, and fairness. Thinking through his philosophy, Chandler examines what are called “basic liberties,” which include not just Bill of Rights guarantees but also “freedom of choice in questions of sexuality and reproduction” as well as what religion we might want to follow, if any, and what kind of work we might want to do. The central idea is that we may not impose our standards on others simply because they’re our standards, instead respecting the views and practices of others. Citizenship in a good society requires the “duty of civility,” which is to say an openness to difference and principled disagreement. Teaching this civility, Chandler adds, will require a rather thoroughgoing reorganization of education to make “every young person aware of their rights and freedoms, of how the political system works, and about the diversity of religious, moral and political beliefs in society.” Of course, creating that education is going to cost money, which means raising taxes, and in particular taxes on the very wealthy—an opinion that wealthy individuals are likely to dispute, which introduces thorny questions of majority will. Thorny questions or no, Chandler brings good cheer and a positive outlook to the work of reshaping society, which marks an advance on the usual gloom and doom.
A resounding endorsement of Rawls’ philosophy and a complex recipe for something better than what we have now.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593801680
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
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