The problem for Sen is that once this is recognised, a political philosopher has nothing to say. This is why The Idea of Justice, although full of insights and good, trenchant argument, is ultimately rather incoherent. Having made his perfectly valid points against Rawls and his ilk, he bolts off down a series of byways, taking pot-shots against other thinkers along the way. There are reflections on the moral dimension of Adam Smith’s thought; on the concept of justice between nations; and on a variety of more concrete questions, such as whether famines are caused by shortage or maldistribution, or the relationship between public revenue and economic growth. If this makes the book sound rather austere, then I am doing the author an injustice. It may break down into a collection of mini-essays, but they are elegant, literate, and reflective essays by an original thinker and a master of English prose. It is probably not the kind of book that many readers of The Spectator will spontaneously pick up, but it would be good for them.

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