Rawls

<i>Rawls: An Introduction</i> is a uniquely comprehensive introduction to the work of the American philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002), who transformed contemporary political philosophy. In the 1950s and 1960s, political philosophy seemed to have reached a dead end characterized by a loose predominance of utilitarian theses. Rawls’s<br /> conception of liberalism placed civil liberties and social justice at its core, and his extraordinary influence has only been confirmed by the extent of the criticism he has provoked.<br /> <br /> The book is divided into three parts which correspond to Rawls’s three major books. The first concentrates on <i>A Theory of Justice</i> (1971) and examines the way in which Rawls’s general vision of social justice is presented. Maffettone also includes here a discussion of some of the most important critiques of Rawls. The second part of the book highlights <i>Political Liberalism</i> (1993-6), with a chapter dedicated to the “passage” from <i>Theory of Justice to Political Liberalism</i>. Finally, the third part provides a discussion of <i>The Law of Peoples</i> (1999). <br /> <br /> This work is acomprehensive examination of these three major texts by a renowned Rawls scholar and will appeal to all philosophers and social scientists for whom it is essential to understand the key theories of this most influential of political philosophers.