Bounds of Justice

Argues for a concept of justice that takes account of boundaries, institutions and human diversity.

Onora O'Neill (Author)

9780521442329, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 October 2000

232 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.51 kg

'… the essays in this fine volume cover a wide variety of topics … The topics are no less vital for their variety, and the arguments are indisputably clear and insightful. Scholars in political philosophy, political science, and international relations will find much here that is well worth contemplating.' Philosophical Inquiry

In this collection of essays Onora O'Neill explores and argues for an account of justice that is fundamentally cosmopolitan rather than civic, yet takes serious account of institutions and boundaries, and of human diversity and vulnerability. Starting from conceptions that are central to any account of justice - those of reason, action, judgement, coercion, obligations and rights - she discusses whether and how culturally or politically specific concepts and views, which limit the claims and scope of justice, can be avoided. She then examines the demands and scope of just institutions, arguing that there are good reasons for taking the claims of distant strangers seriously, but that doing so points not to a world without boundaries but to one of porous boundaries and dispersed power. Bounds of Justice will be of interest to a wide range of readers in philosophy, politics and international relations.

Preface
Introduction
Part I. Philosophical Bounds of Justice: 1. Four models of practical reasoning
2. Agency and autonomy
3. Principles, practical judgement and institutions
4. Kant's justice and Kantian justice
5. Which are the offers you can't refuse?
6. Women's rights: whose obligations?
Part II. Political Bounds of Justice: 7. Transnational economic justice
8. Justice, gender and international boundaries
9. Identities, boundaries and states
10. Distant strangers, moral standing and porous boundaries
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Philosophy [HP]