To tackle the challenges facing modern democracies, like authoritarianism and late-stage capitalism, policymakers could embrace the communitarian beliefs espoused by 20th-century philosopher John Rawls, said Daniel Chandler, London School of Economics philosopher and economist at a talk on Wednesday.
Chandler joined Joshua Cohen, Apple University professor of philosophy, to promote his new book, “Free and Equal: A Manifesto for A Just Society.” The book talk was co-sponsored by the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society and the Boston Review.
“Chandler does what Rawls never did, which is to turn a hopeful philosophy of politics into a platform of specific policies that could be implemented in America right now,” said Leif Wenar, philosophy professor and faculty director of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, in his opening remarks.
Chandler introduced the audience to Rawlsian practical agendas that he believes could be implemented today, including imposing term limits on judicial appointees, taking private money out of politics, abolishing fee-paying private schools and creating more generous parental leave policies in the workplace.
According to Chandler, Rawls is known for his “fair equality of opportunity principle,” which states that every individual should have a fair chance of advancing in society, and his “difference principle,” which states that inequalities in a society can be tolerated so long as they result in overall benefits to the general good. In other words, he said, Rawls argued that economic systems should be structured to most benefit the least-advantaged members of society.
Political science Professor Brian Coyne, who attended the event, said the talk emphasized to him Rawls’ fundamental values, adding: “Everything [Rawls] says — whether you disagree or agree — you can best understand it as an argument of fairness.”
Chandler said he hopes his book will make Rawls more accessible to the public and help clarify the ideological differences between neo-liberal practices, which are largely based on the teachings of capitalist Milton Friedman, and liberalism, which encompasses Rawls’ views.
“Another thing I was trying to achieve with this book was to bring popular understandings of liberalism up-to-date and make a whole-hearted argument for a liberalism that’s grounded: not in self-interest and competition, but in reciprocity and cooperation,” Chandler said.
Karen Hinh said she attended the event to hear more about Rawlsian policy proposals.
“I’ve always been interested in politics and economics, and I’ve been reading a lot about neoliberalism and [had been] trying to figure out how to frame better policies,” Hinh said.
Though Chandler proposed specific policies, he cautioned that his book does not delve into political strategies that could elect someone into office who would push for Rawlsian-based policy change.
Moderator Joshua Cohen, who is himself a former student of Rawls, mentioned a recent New York Times review that argues the policies Chandler introduces are “unequal to the fury of this moment.”
In response to the criticism, Chandler acknowledged that although this book was created with current events in mind, he wants it — and Rawls’ itself — to be applicable at any moment of time.
Cohen ended the talk by emphasizing the hope that he believes underlies a Rawlsian interpretation of liberalism.
“There’s a very powerful temptation to endorse, to embrace, an adjacent form of liberalism, the kind of liberalism of fear,” Cohen said. “I think [Chandler’s book is saying] that that’s the wrong way to respond, that responding by retreating may not be the most compelling way to defend the kind of ideal of a fair system of cooperation.”