The Rise and Fall of Economic Justice and Other Papers

Aspects of 20th-century democracy such as economic justice, human rights, industrial democracy, property, pluralism, and the roots of liberalism are explored in this wide-ranging collection of essays, which expands on the analyses made in two of Macpherson’s earlier books, Democratic Theory and The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. Closely considering the past ups and downs of the concept of economic justice, Macpherson reaches a disturbing conclusion: that the concept is likely to wither away. Macpherson’s subject matter ranges from an examination of the extent to which human rights are implemented in different parts of the world, to the probable future of workers’ participation in industrial decision-making in both capitalist and socialist countries, to a discussion of the roots of modern liberalism that also reexamines Hobbes, this time as an economist. Taking a sweeping look backwards over the history of theory, this book elicits the role of economic assumptions in political theory and opens new doors to an understanding of state, class, and property.