Table of Contents

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1

I. 1 What Is Philosophy? 1

I. 2 What Is Political Philosophy? 2

I. 3 Making Political Thought Coherent 9

I. 4 This Book 10

I. 5 Conclusion 12

1 Freedom 14

1.1 Introduction 14

1.2 Knowing Freedom 15

1.3 Contemporary Freedom 20

1.4 Choices and Options 21

1.5 Theories of Freedom 23

1.6 Are Different Theories About Freedom Compatible? 30

1.7 Paternalism 34

1.8 Conclusion 37

Further Reading 37

2 Rights 38

2.1 Introduction 38

2.2 The Divine Right of Kings 39

2.3 Natural Rights 41

2.4 What Are Rights? 44

2.5 A Taxonomy of Rights 49

2.6 Human Rights 51

2.7 Capabilities and Human Rights 55

2.8 Group Rights and Mutual Recognition 59

2.9 Animal Rights 62

2.10 Conclusion 65

Further Reading 66

3 Equality 67

3.1 Introduction 67

3.2 Formal Equality 68

3.3 Legal Equality 70

3.4 Political and Social Equality 75

3.5 Economic Equality 84

3.6 Conclusion 91

Further Reading 92

4 Justice 93

4.1 Introduction 93

4.2 Deontology 94

4.3 Consequentialism 97

4.4 Moral Sentiments 101

4.5 The Idea of a Social Contract 105

4.6 Rawls’s Theory of Justice 109

4.7 Rawls’s Political Liberalism 116

4.8 The Capabilities Approach 119

4.9 Feminist Justice 122

4.10 The Stakeholder Society 125

4.11 Conclusion 128

Further Reading 128

5 Democracy 129

5.1 Introduction 129

5.2 Why Democracy? 130

5.3 Democratic Models 135

5.4 A Role for Experts? 150

5.5 Conclusion 154

Further Reading 154

6 Punishment 155

6.1 Introduction 155

6.2 Defining Punishment 156

6.3 Retribution 158

6.4 Deterrence 167

6.5 Rehabilitation and Restoration 170

6.6 Unified Theory of Punishment 175

6.7 Conclusion 180

Further Reading 180

7 Global Justice 181

7.1 Introduction 181

7.2 Liberal Nationalism 182

7.3 Cosmopolitanism 185

7.4 Tackling Severe Poverty 190

7.5 Conclusion 200

Further Reading 201

8 Climate Change 202

8.1 Introduction 202

8.2 Mitigation 204

8.3 Adaptation 211

8.4 Rethinking Sustainability 214

8.5 Conclusion 216

Further Reading 217

Conclusion 218

References 220

Index 233

About the Author

Thom Brooks is Professor of Law and Government at Durham University and Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School. His edited publications include Global Justice: An Introduction, Climate Change for an Endangered World, Rawls’s Political Liberalism and The Global Justice Reader, Revised Edition.