Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like?

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Rawls’ core ideas – that we should protect basic freedoms, promote equality of opportunity and improve the lot of the disadvantaged – do not represent such a radical break from the status quo

A brilliantly eloquent, incredibly insightful reimagining of liberalism, and by such a compelling writer -- Owen Jones To be fair, in some cases Chandler’s recommendations flow naturally from Rawls’ work in ways that seem prescient given our current challenges. For example, Chandler’s call for a written constitution makes sense as a way to recognise the priority Rawls gives to basic liberties, and to make the protection of individual rights less precarious, given recent efforts to scrap the Human Rights Act. His discussion of Rawlsian ‘public reason’ – to simplify, the notion that our democratic arguments should be couched in terms of political values everyone can accept rather than controversial moral or religious worldviews – has obvious relevance to ongoing ‘culture war’ issues. An uplifting vision of a new, egalitarian liberalism, and a bold practical programme for how we can reinvigorate democracy and transform capitalism That wishlist includes a universal basic income sufficient to eliminate poverty (costing about 25% of GDP) awarded to everyone irrespective of wealth, any other income, or whether they’re employed; tertiary education funded by a mix of free tuition and income-contingent loans, and a transfer of wealth to every citizen when they reach adulthood (a reform historically endorsed by the two Thomases, Paine and Piketty, and similar to Gordon Brown’s child trust fund).Despite the enormous problems we face and widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo, it's surprisingly hard to find a coherent vision of what a better, fairer society would look like. Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe. If members of the shadow frontbench seek inspiration on how to differentiate their future administration from the mendacious nonentities who have run the country for the past 13 years, they could do worse than read this book. Free and Equal is a stirring call by an LSE philosopher and economist for egalitarian liberalism based on the ideas of John Rawls. The late Harvard professor wrote a book 50 years ago that saw him feted as a political thinker of the calibre of Plato, Hobbes and Mill, but, as far as I can tell, he had precisely zero impact on the real world. Maybe now his time has come. Daniel Chandler's provocative book helps make human possibilities more credible than they have been in our neoliberal age. Free and Equal doubles as an accessible guide to a leading philosophical system, and a call for a new agenda for justice in our time Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World

This is a book brimming with hope and possibility - a much-needed alternative to the cynicism that pervades our politics, setting out a 'realistic utopia' that can galvanise people from all walks of life. Free and Equal has the potential not only to transform contemporary debate, but to offer a touchstone for a modern, egalitarian liberalism for many years to come, cementing Rawls's place in political discourse, and firmly establishing Chandler as a vital new voice for our time. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. A tremendous book, timely, wise, authoritative and clear. The world will fall on it like tired labourers falling on a tray of donuts Stephen FryPhilosopher John Rawls, whose ideas form the basis of Chandler’s book, in 1987. Photograph: Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating intervention, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today. Taking Rawls's humane and egalitarian liberalism as his starting point, Chandler builds a careful and ultimately irresistible case for a progressive agenda that would fundamentally reshape our societies for the better. Free and Equal provides that vision. In this hugely ambitious and exhilarating debut, philosopher and economist Daniel Chandler argues that the ideas we need are hiding in plain sight, in the work of the twentieth century's greatest political philosopher, John Rawls. Although they have revolutionised philosophy, his ideas have had little impact on politics - until now. Taking Rawls's humane and egalitarian liberalism as his starting point, Chandler builds a careful and ultimately irresistible case for a progressive agenda that would fundamentally reshape our political and economic institutions. The most interesting aspects of the theoretical justifications of these principles for me are the coherent structure of assessing which basic rights take precedence over others (with the general idea being those that are the most necessary for the development and preservation of the political community and liberty on individual and collective level through “public reason”, so greatest benefit for anyone in the society) and the very interesting nature of the difference principle. While the author highlights the just savings principle, as a justification for environmental policy, conservation and limiting of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is the different principle that I believe can be the most revolutionary, if adopted as a part of the presented structure of coherent set of ideas and principles. Free and Equal has the potential not only to transform contemporary debate, but to offer a touchstone for a modern, egalitarian liberalism for many years to come, cementing Rawls’s place in political discourse, and firmly establishing Chandler as a vital new voice for our time.

This is a fantastic book. More than ever, we need philosophers to participate in the public debate about inequality and sustainability. In Free and Equal Daniel Chandler provides us with the moral basis for an ambitious egalitarian agenda, and a roadmap for putting this into practice. It is a must-read! Thomas Piketty This is the revolutionary thought experiment proposed by the twentieth century’s greatest political philosopher, John Rawls. As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating manifesto, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today. The second half of the book focuses on how these principles can then be implemented in places like the UK and the US. While there are references to Rawls' philosophy, this reads more like a manifesto for change than a direct analysis of Rawls' ideas. While this is nice to read and the ideas are interesting, it somehow feels disconnected from the first part (and unnecessarily constrained by the fact that Chandler is supposed to be talking about Rawls). I would prefer to read a book by Chandler discussing ideas from a much larger collection of thinkers, rather than a selection of those which he can directly apply to Rawls' ideas.A magnificent attempt to apply fundamental philosophical principles to the practical building of a better world. Far-reaching and well-evidenced, it offers a new, coherent, principles-based approach to policy design Professor Lord Richard Layard A tremendous book, timely, wise, authoritative and clear' Stephen Fry'A brilliantly eloquent, incredibly insightful reimagining of liberalism' Owen Jones'Clear, brave, compelling' David Miliband'Inspiring ... impassioned ... full of hope' Zadie Smith'This is a fantastic book' Thomas PikettyImagine: you are designing a society, but you don't know who you'll be within it - rich or poor, man or woman, gay or straight. Attractively written and strongly argued ... This is a welcome reminder of what progressive politics should be Jonathan Wolff, Times Literary Supplement