Overview

When it comes to justice, humanity is in a state of flux. On the upside, world poverty and malnutrition have fallen since the turn of the century, and average life expectancies and literacy rates have risen. On the downside, extremes of wealth and poverty have grown wider, and civil strife, terrorism and gun violence have spiralled. Governments desperate to regain control have responded by side-lining human rights - from China's crackdown on Uighurs to military repression in Egypt and the bloody battle for Syria. But what exactly is justice? Does it mean everyone should be treated the same, even when it comes to things like taxes or welfare? And how is it enforced? Such questions have exercised the minds of thinkers since Plato and Aristotle. In this highly topical introduction, Professor Raymond Wacks breaks down the leading theories of justice to illustrate how present-day challenges affect our fundamental notions of fairness and freedom.

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9781786070456

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Reviews

'The concept of justice is seldom given the attention it deserves in legal education. In part this is due to the large number of indigestible treatises on this subject that act as a deterrent to teachers and students. Raymond Wacks' Beginner's Guide seeks to remedy this by providing a clearly written and argued study of the principal debates and writers in the field. Although the emphasis is on the theory of justice, Wacks' thoughtful illustrations of justice in practice ensures that the reader is made aware of the pivotal role played by the concept of justice in the ordering of society.' -- John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Law and former member of the UN International Law Commission A wide-ranging and highly readable examination of key ideas in the evolution of thought on social justice. -- Albie Sachs - Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

`The concept of justice is seldom given the attention it deserves in legal education. In part this is due to the large number of indigestible treatises on this subject that act as a deterrent to teachers and students. Raymond Wacks' Beginner's Guide seeks to remedy this by providing a clearly written and argued study of the principal debates and writers in the field. Although the emphasis is on the theory of justice, Wacks' thoughtful illustrations of justice in practice ensures that the reader is made aware of the pivotal role played by the concept of justice in the ordering of society.' -- John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Law and former member of the UN International Law Commission A wide-ranging and highly readable examination of key ideas in the evolution of thought on social justice. -- Albie Sachs - Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa

'The concept of justice is seldom given the attention it deserves in legal education. In part this is due to the large number of indigestible treatises on this subject that act as a deterrent to teachers and students. Raymond Wacks' Beginner's Guide seeks to remedy this by providing a clearly written and argued study of the principal debates and writers in the field. Although the emphasis is on the theory of justice, Wacks' thoughtful illustrations of justice in practice ensures that the reader is made aware of the pivotal role played by the concept of justice in the ordering of society.' -- John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Law, Universities of Witwatersrand and Leiden, and former member of the UN International Law Commission

The concept of justice is seldom given the attention it deserves in legal education. In part this is due to the large number of indigestible treatises on this subject that act as a deterrent to teachers and students. Raymond Wack's Beginner's Guide seeks to remedy this by providing a clearly written and argued study of the principal debates and writers in the field. Although the emphasis is on the theory of justice, Wacks' thoughtful illustrations of justice in practice ensures that the reader is made aware of the pivotal role played by the concept of justice in the ordering of society. -- John Dugard, Emeritus Professor of Law, Universities of Witwatersrand and Leiden

Author Information

Raymond Wacks is Emeritus Professor of Law and Legal Theory at the University of Hong Kong. He is a prolific and influential writer on legal theory and human rights, and has authored more than a dozen books. He was raised in apartheid South Africa before studying at the University of Oxford. He now lives in Berkshire.

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