JUSTICE AS IMPARTIALITY
A Treatise on Social Justice, Volume 2
(Oxford Political Theory Series, 2)
Brian Barry
Oxford University Press (1995)

"...I continue to believe in the possibility of putting forward a universally valid case in favour of liberal egalitarian principles. This appears to be a deeply unfashionable view among contemporary anglophone political philosophers. From a number of premises, including Burkean conservatism, concern for 'stability', worries about 'cultural imperialism', and postmodernist 'irony', they have tended to converge on the conclusion that the so-called 'Enlightenment project' of addressing the reason of every human being of sound mind was a gigantic error and that all we can aspire to is articulating the shared beliefs of members of our own society...." Brian Barry, Justice as Impartiality, Part 1–Impartiality and Justice, Chapter 1, "Impartiality, 1. Introduction," pp. 3–4

"...Anything claiming to be a theory of justice must articulate with common modes of thinking about justice...Rawls and those who (like myself) follow in his footsteps meet this requirement in virtue of the connection we establish between the content of justice and the terms of reasonable agreement....

...Historically, reason has been contrasted with authority, prescription, revelation, or coercion as a basis for the justification of institutions. In this context 'reason' means reasoned argument, from premises that are in principle open to everyone to accept....

...A theory of justice which makes it turn on the terms of reasonable agreement I call a theory of justice as impartiality. Principles of justice that satisfy its conditions are impartial because they capture a certain kind of equality: all those affected have to be able to feel that they have done as well as they could reasonably hope to. Thus, principles of justice are inconsistent with any claims to special privilege based on grounds that cannot be made freely acceptable to others....it rules out immediate claims to advantage based on, for example, high birth, ethnicity, or race....

...the whole idea that we should seek the agreement of everybody rests upon a fundamental commitment to the equality of all human beings....Only on this basis can we defend the claim that the interests and viewpoints of everybody concerned must be accommodated....The criterion of reasonable acceptability of principles gives some substance to the idea of fundamental equality while at the same time flowing from it. This is, if you like, a circle— but not a vicious one. Both are expressions of the same moral idea...." Brian Barry, Justice as Impartiality, Part 1–Impartiality and Justice, Chapter 1, "Impartiality, 1. Introduction," pp. 7–8

BOOK DESCRIPTION
PUBLISHER
Almost every country today contains adherents of different religions and different secular conceptions of the good life. Is there any alternative to a power struggle among them, leading most probably to either civil war or repression? The argument of this book is that justice as impartiality offers a solution. According to the theory of justice as impartiality, principles of justice are those principles that provide a reasonable basis for the unforced assent of those subject to them. The object of this book is to set the theory out, explain its rationale, and respond to a variety of criticism that have been made of it. As the second volume of his work-in-progress, A Treatise on Social Justice, this work lies at the heart of a thriving academic debate which the author has played a key role in shaping.

This is the second volume of A Treatise on Social Justice. The first, Theories of Justice, explored alternative theories and concluded by asserting the superiority of justice as impartiality. This conclusion is built on in Justice as Impartiality, but it does not presuppose acquaintance with Theories of Justice.

BOOK REVIEWS
POLITICAL STUDIES
"Quite simply Anglo-American political philosophy at its best. Barry's analytical rigour is a precious lesson in how to think and write on philosophical themes, and the elegence of his writing and occasional witty remark makes the reading an enjoyable experience...A short review cannot do justice to a book full of powerful reasoning and inspired ideas...Barry is perhaps the most original contributor to the debate on social justice since Rawls, and Justice as Impartiality will be at the centre of discussion for many years to come."

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
"A high-class contribution to political theory."