Saturday, December 26, 2009
What to make of Amartya Sen's The Idea of Justice?
One of my projects planned for 2010 is a study of Amartya Sen's new The Idea of Justice. I'll be reading it along with a discussion group made up of economists, political scientists, and philosophers from Hillsdale College, a rather mixed group that's likely to have quite disparate views on the subjects Sen addresses.
I'm familiar with Sen largely from his work in development economics, plus a little of his work in social choice theory (particularly his Paretian Liberal paradox, which I've critiqued here). The Idea of Justice is a fairly weighty treatment of the concept and pursuit of justice, and -- judging from the reviews -- quite thought-provoking. I expect this to be quite stimulating, and hope some of this will be reflected in Unforeseen Contingencies. Any of my readers interested in virtual participation are hereby invited to join me.
I'm posting below -- first of all so that I don't misplace them -- a few interesting reviews of this book...including one by Sen himself (the first link). Enjoy.
Amartya Sen: The Idea of Justice | SOA World Magazine
Amartya Sen’s wrong idea of justice | The Acorn
The Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
Amartya Sen's "The Idea of Justice" (Law and Other Things Blog)
Amartya Sen Shakes Up Justice Theory: Chronicle of Higher Education
The Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen: The Guardian
