Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice

Abstract

Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice, Lesley A. Jacobs, Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. xiv, 280.The concept of equality and the precise means by which it is most effectively realized are matters that for centuries have engaged scholars representing a variety of disciplines and animated some of the most interesting and sophisticated works in the fields of political theory, economics, sociology, and jurisprudence, to name only a few. Efforts to identify the specific demands of equality and the conditions necessary for its realization generate both theoretical and practical challenges. In particular, before one can develop a theory of egalitarian justice, it is necessary to determine what is meant by equality—what it provides and for whom—and which legal and political institutions are best suited to help secure its establishment and preservation.