Why Political Philosophy Matters: The Imperative of Social Injustice

Abstract

In the past 50 years, political philosophy has witnessed an unprecedented development, going from strength to strength; indeed one could argue that this discipline has never been as vibrant as it is today. Yet, not all is well with political philosophy. For many years Brian Barry warned us that the discipline of political philosophy could be running the risk of becoming the victim of its own success. As debates among professional political philosophers become increasingly sophisticated, the point of political philosophy becomes more obfuscated, lost in the thick fog of technicalities. In his last book, Barry (2005) aimed to reverse this trend; Why Social Justice Matters is not only an outstanding work on both social justice and social injustice, but also a powerful and indispensable reminder of the point of political philosophy.