Ideas That Matter: Democracy, Justice, Rights

The essays in this volume take off from themes in the work of eminent philosopher and political scientist Joshua Cohen. Cohen is a deeply influential thinker who has written on deliberative democracy, freedom of expression, Rawlsian theory, global justice, and human rights. The essays gathered here both engage with Cohen's work and expand upon it, embodying his commitment to the idea that analytical work by philosophers and social scientists matters to our shared public life and to democracy itself. The contributors offer novel perspectives on pressing issues of public policy from accountability for sexual violence to exploitation in international trade. The volume is organized around three central ideas. The first concerns democracy, specifically how we can improve collective decision-making both by elucidating our normative principles and enacting institutional changes. The second idea centers on how we confront injustice, investigating the role of emotions, social norms, and culture in democratic politics and public discussion. The final section explores how we develop political principles and values in an interdependent world, one in which theories of justice and forms of cooperation are increasingly extending beyond the state. The principle uniting this collection is that ideas matter-they can guide us in understanding how to confront difficult global problems such as the fragility of democratic institutions, the place of sovereignty in a globalizing world, and the persistence of racial injustice.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Debra Satz Part I. Reinvigorating Democracy 1. Saving Democracy from Ourselves: Democracy as a Tragedy of the Commons, Archon Fung 2. Collective Reason or Individual Liberty: Deliberative Democracy and the Protection of Individual Rights, Assaf Sharon 3. Rousseau and the Meaning of Popular Sovereignty, Stuart White Part II. Confronting Injustice 4. Without the Loving Strains of Commitment, Christopher Lebron 5. Deliberation and University Governance: The Case of Brown University's Diversity and Inclusion Plan Richard Locke 6. Accountability in an Era of Celebrity, Martha Nussbaum Part III. Principles for an Interdependent World 7. Exploitation in International Trade, Helena De Bres 8. Sovereignty and Complex Interdependence: Some Surprising Implications of their Compatibility Charles Sabel 9. Toward a Political Philosophy of Human Rights, Annabelle Lever Afterword Joshua Cohen Publications of Joshua Cohen Index

About the Author :
Debra Satz is Vernon R. & Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities & Sciences at Stanford; she is a political philosopher whose work is at the intersection of philosophy and economics, and she is editor-in-chief of Philosophy and Public Affairs. Annabelle Lever is Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po, Paris.

Review :
"If you don't know why Josh Cohen is one of the leading philosophers of our time, read this book. If you do, you'll be planning to read it already." -- Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University "This outstanding book demonstrates how rigorous analytical thought can serve as an instrument of democratic reason. Celebrating the remarkable and inspiring scholarship of Josh Cohen, Ideas that Matter connects thinking and doing, and compellingly advances Cohen's principal themes: democratic guardianship, egalitarian decency, and normative orientations for a more just world." -- Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University "No one has shown better than Josh Cohen how a philosopher could generate and feed well-argued public debates. Nothing could show better than this volume how his work and action inspired others to join him in mobilizing rigorous interdisciplinary thinking in the service of a better world." -- PhilippeÂvan Parijs, Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics, University of Louvain