Book Review: The Equal Society: Essays on Equality in Theory and Practice

Abstract

Issues around equality have become of critical importance in our globalised world. Thomas Piketty in France and Paul Krugman in the United States are among many contemporary economists who have stressed the centrality of the impact of inequality on the welfare of nations and peoples. The rise of right- and left- wing populists like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is a visible manifestation of the political impact of inequality. This volume therefore comes at a propitious time. The product of an international conference of philosophers held in Cape Town in late 2014, its 14 contributors examine a wide range of practical and epistemic issues related to equality and inequality.