Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Author: Michael J. Sandel
- Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Release Date: September 2009
- ISBN-10: 0374180652
- ISBN-13: 9780374180652
- List Price: $25.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryWhat are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good conflict? Michael J. Sandel’s “Justice” course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and this fall, public television will air a series based on the course. Justice offers readers the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students. This book is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, one that invites readers of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, patriotism and dissent, the moral limits of markets—Sandel dramatizes the challenge of thinking through these con?icts, and shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well. Justice is lively, thought-provoking, and wise—an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the hard questions of our civic life. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Justice
Rating:
This is one of the most profound books I have ever read. The topic goes to the heart of the struggle for the political soul of this country in a way that is both scholarly and objective.
The Philosopher's Tongue
Rating: 
Ironically Michael Sandel, a philosopher, espouses a philosophy that is dollar based. It is noteworthy that he lacks any suggestion as to how to conform citizens to his idealism. Quote: a "just society .......... must find a way to cultivate in citizens a concern for the whole, a dedication to the common good." Pg 263. He didn't suggest a method because none exists. The food for thought gained from the philosophers tongue is a lesson in how little it takes to fool oneself.
I found very little in Sandel's book to suggest that his philosophy had anything to do with contribution (production. The focal point is distribution and the implication is that less for all is better then more for many. Greed is described as a characteristic of capitalism rather than one in the human genome. Sandel sways the reader to believe intention is more important than outcome. For example, a greedy individual may simply work harder, but his hard work counts for little because his motivation is greed.
Realistically the population relies on only a small share of the populace for consumable goods. These dependents include non-productive members such as children, government mandated workers and non-working members who derive support from a spouse, inheritance, saving, retirement or a stipend. Unfortunately, these dependents are often encouraged by politicians who, for votes or campaign contributions, offer government grants and assistance under the cloak of taxing the rich. The result is to add burdens that bear few benefits and detract from productivity.
Only 1 in 5 members of the population are productive. Obviously producers must generate far in excess of their own consumption. Their profits are gains on the surplus and much of that is put back to enhance production. As you can see, math often frustrates logic and the philosopher's judgment. In the private sector human desires, even greed, are likely to enhance the productivity from which everyone gains. In contrast, greed in a political position is simply a demand for a greater share with no contribution. Communitarianism is thus simply an avenue for the greedy and not the needy.
When we realize that four fifths of the population relies on the other fifth, we can distinguish who is the prey and who is the plunderer.
Sandel's logic is to alter human characteristics to conform individuals to a system, rather then seeking a system that conforms to the plethora of human characteristics. Communists sought to enforce a system wherein contribution was ignored and only existence was a consideration in allocating distributions. For this to work, citizens need to conform to characteristics prescribed by the state. The only state where this succeeds is in the insect world where, for example, bees and ants perform particular functions throughout their lives.
The quest to create the greatest good for one's self requires the greatest service to others, whereas greed in government requires the pillage of others.
Sandel argues against the greatest good and for philosophical solutions to economics using extreme arguments such as cannibalism and the feeding of Christians to the lions. This ignores the potential of a system of freedom and individualism. He is unconcerned that the burden of a politician's demands, whether righteous or not, are passed to individuals at the lowest level of production and not rich owners. Physical work creates the product. Just as nobles passed the king's tax to the surfs, a business owner must pass costs that fall on the worker.
Sandel's arguments for a greater tax on the rich such as Michael Jordan, conceals the burden that falls on the individual worker. It is more likely that in a system powered by the individual that the least of all citizens will fair better then the greatest in a system powered by government. The exception, of course, is for those living in the employ of government. This is the lesson in fall of the USSR and the decision in China to transform into a capitalist system.
Communitarianism like socialism is merely a scheme to transfer consumption to those chosen or favored by the political establishment. The Socialist goal, like the communitarians', requires the plunder of a workable system. As I have said, it is a cancer that grows within a host and eventually results in death.
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
Rating:
This is a book that is hard to put down. So appropriate for our time - to have the philosophical questions that we have dealt with for ages, here, in this book, presented so simply and in ways we fully understand, and still not agreed upon by all. What is the moral thing to do? What is the right thing to do? A very good exercise for most of us especially at this time. More valuable than its price from Amazon.
Justice
Rating:
Book arrived very quickly - in new condition - little more expensive than usual, but it is recent and new.
My weighty dilemma -- how to review
Rating:
Reviewing this audio CD from the Vine program brings me guilt and pleasure. Having found that a lesser than 3 star review usually brings a 'No' vote to the "Was this review helpful to you?" option, do I write what I really think or what the publisher wants me to write? Receiving a negative vote makes those of us who like to believe that our reviews are helpful feel badly and wonder where we went wrong. Some Vine members, therefore, write glowing reviews which may not be entirely truthful, simply to keep their numbers up and egos afloat. I actually have no dilemma when writing a review for Justice, the audio version, by Michael J. Sandel, because I think it's excellent in all regards.
My undergraduate degree is in Philosophy. I like to think and be challenged. Sandel has written a book which is sensible, interesting, thought provoking, contemporary and stimulating. His narration at first didn't thrill me, but I was hooked within the first few minutes and anticipated the driving journeys which allowed me to listen for an hour at a time to the 5 hour disc collection. Just a week ago, I returned home after listening to Justice for a short trip in the car and found myself thinking and thinking and thinking about his words until I decided to turned on the television and do some work at home. As I flipped through the stations, I came upon a lecture and for a split second I couldn't believe my ears. It was the voice I had been listening to and the man was actually in a Harvard lecture hall, talking about what I had just listened to him say. I spent that entire day watching him deliver a series of lectures which apparently are the foundation for his book, broadcast on PBS, and I enjoyed that even more due to the spontaneity of his discussions with the students. I was reminded of the excitement I felt after my philosophy classes, the desire I had to learn more about Spinoza, Buber, Nietzsche and others.
I highly recommend this book to students of philosophy and novices who are interested in the notion of right and wrong, their effects on individuals and society, and law students. I'm listening to the book again because I was so impressed.
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