Justice and Democracy

'Justice' and 'democracy' have alternated as dominant themes in political philosophy over the last fifty years. Since its revival in the middle of the twentieth century, political philosophy has focused on first one and then the other of these two themes. Rarely, however, has it succeeded in holding them in joint focus. This volume brings together leading authors who consider the relationship between democracy and justice in a set of specially written chapters. The intrinsic justness of democracy is challenged, the relationship between justice, democracy and impartiality queried and the relationship between justice, democracy and the common good examined. Further chapters explore the problem of social exclusion and issues surrounding sub-national groups in the context of democracy and justice. Authors include Keith Dowding, Richard Arneson, Norman Schofield, Albert Weale, Robert E. Goodin, Jon Elster, David Miller, Phillip Pettit, Julian LeGrand and Russell Hardin.

'… provides a grounded basis for the opening debate about the difficulty of promoting democracy … What this collection of essays does, and does well, is to ask the serious questions about how democracy and democratic institutions effect and promote concepts of justice. … the questions raised in the essays are important because they require the reader to address in a careful and considerate way what we should expect of democracy, and how, once we agree on those expectations, we should strive to achieve them.' H-Democracy

Keith Dowding is Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics. His books include Rational Choice and Political Power (1991), The Civil Service (1995) and Power (1996). Robert E. Goodin is Joint Professor of Social and Political Theory and of Philosophy at the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He is the author of many books on political theory, public policy and applied ethics and include, most recently, The Real Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, with B. Headey, R. Muffels and H. J. Dirven (1999) and Reflective Democracy (2003). Carole Pateman is Professor of Political Science at UCLA and Honorary Professor in the School of European Studies at Cardiff University. Her publications include Participation and Democratic Theory (1970), The Problem of Political Obligation, 2nd edition (1985), and The Sexual Contract (1988).