Awards

• Short-listed for The Donner Prize awarded by The Donner Canadian Foundation 2023 (Canada)

Overview

This book analyses tensions that arise between the principles of social justice and the need for cooperation to advance collective goals. It is a common approach in contemporary political philosophy to view society as a system of mutually beneficial cooperation. This cooperation is difficult to achieve, often requiring a great deal of bargaining and compromise. Agreement is facilitated by principles of social justice, which determine the terms of reasonable compromise. And yet the application of these principles is also constrained by the scope of the cooperative system, which results in outcomes that often fall short of our ideals. Cooperation and Social Justice explores a set of issues that arise in this uncomfortable region, lying between our utopian ideals and the pragmatic constraints imposed by society. In six previously unpublished essays, philosopher and award-winning author Joseph Heath explores the connection between principles of justice and the institutional arrangements required to achieve them. Topics include the feasibility of socialism, objections to profit under capitalism, the significance of status inequality, the question of open borders and immigration, the stigmatization of self-control failure, and debates over racial inequality in the United States. Ultimately, Cooperation and Social Justice reveals that one cannot think about questions of social justice without also taking seriously the institutional arrangements through which they may or may not be realized.

Full Product Details

9781487525958

Table of Contents

Reviews

""With clarity, compassion, and keen insight, Joseph Heath stands conventional assumptions on their head, to offer new ways of understanding and responding to seemingly intractable problems of social justice. By turns provocative, intriguing, and inspiring (and sometimes all three at once), this book will challenge you to change the way you think about the leading policy issues of our day."" --Carolyn Hughes Tuohy, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto "" Cooperation and Social Justice comprises six brilliant essays on contemporary political controversies by one of the very best political philosophers. On topics such as immigration and border control, race relations in the United States, and egalitarianism, Joseph Heath skillfully isolates the important theoretical questions raised and forcefully and persuasively defends a position which is novel. His writing is accessible to serious readers in any field, a model for all of us thinking about contemporary politics. The opening essay on the scalability of cooperative solutions - a gem - raises the fundamental but neglected question of scale. Recommended for anyone interested in contemporary politics."" --Christopher Morris, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Maryland ""In his impressive and lucid book, Joseph Heath redirects our thinking about egalitarian justice. For such justice can only be achieved through social and political cooperation, and so we must deal with the many difficulties of achieving such cooperation in modern, complex societies. The insights we gain from this superb treatise are multiple, and they invite debate not just about realizing justice, but also about its very meaning."" --Rainer Forst, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy, Goethe University Frankfurt/Main ""In this rigorous and iconoclastic book, Joseph Heath brings social scientific understanding to bear on a wide range of pressing topics in current politics and political philosophy from socialism to immigration. No reader will be persuaded by everything, but all will find their thinking productively challenged. Throughout, Heath treats the liberal order, the democratic state, and the market economy as complex institutions of large-scale societies rather than as mere applications of ordinary moral intuitions, and forces the reader to see how important that distinction really is."" --Jacob T. Levy, Professor of Political Science, McGill University ""This excellent and wide-ranging book offers an insightful treatment of the importance of justice and maintaining social cooperation. Heath argues that much political philosophy fails to grapple with the complexities of cooperation and he provides provocative suggestions about the considerations that should guide the feasible pursuit of social justice in various domains. Even when it courts controversy, Heath's analysis is stimulating, informative, and challenging."" --Colin Macleod, Professor of Philosophy and Law, University of Victoria

Cooperation and Social Justice comprises of six brilliant essays on contemporary political controversies by one of the very best political philosophers. On topics such as immigration and border control, race relations in the United States, and egalitarianism, Joseph Heath skillfully isolates the important theoretical questions raised and forcefully and persuasively defends a position which is novel. His writing is accessible to serious readers in any field, a model for all of us thinking about contemporary politics. The opening essay on the scalability of cooperative solutions - a gem - raises the fundamental but neglected question of scale. Recommended for anyone interested in contemporary politics. - Christopher Morris, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Maryland In his impressive and lucid book, Joseph Heath redirects our thinking about egalitarian justice. For such justice can only be achieved through social and political cooperation, and so we must deal with the many difficulties of achieving such cooperation in modern, complex societies. The insights we gain from this superb treatise are multiple, and they invite debate not just about realizing justice, but also about its very meaning. - Rainer Forst, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy, Goethe University Frankfurt/Main In this rigorous and iconoclastic book, Joseph Heath brings social scientific understanding to bear on a wide range of pressing topics in current politics and political philosophy from socialism to immigration. No reader will be persuaded by everything, but all will find their thinking productively challenged. Throughout, Heath treats the liberal order, the democratic state, and the market economy as complex institutions of large-scale societies rather than as mere applications of ordinary moral intuitions, and forces the reader to see how important that distinction really is. - Jacob T. Levy, Professor of Political Science, McGill University This excellent and wide-ranging book offers an insightful treatment of the importance of justice and maintaining social cooperation. Heath argues that much political philosophy fails to grapple with the complexities of cooperation and he provides provocative suggestions about the considerations that should guide the feasible pursuit of social justice in various domains. Even when it courts controversy, Heath's analysis is stimulating, informative, and challenging. - Colin Macleod, Professor of Philosophy and Law, University of Victoria With clarity, compassion and keen insight, Joseph Heath stands conventional assumptions on their head, to offer new ways of understanding and responding to seemingly intractable problems of social justice. By turns provocative, intriguing and inspiring (and sometimes all three at once), this book will challenge you to change the way you think about the leading policy issues of our day. - Carolyn Hughes Tuohy, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto

Author Information

Joseph Heath is a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto.

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