There is of course a case for UBI (emphasised as a tool to give more power to the workers not to be afraid to quit their jobs or to retrain), but also a variation of universal inheritance (like baby bonds). The most convincing case is, however, for compulsory representations of workers on boards of companies (like is done in more tripartite systems and coordinated markets, in Germany or Austria, with a third of board seats in smaller companies and a half in bigger ones) as well as workers’ cooperatives like the Mondragon Corporation in Spain - and Chandler proposes a few policies that would encourage this shared ownership model, through specialised banks creating financing for employee buyouts. The argumentation in this part was for me the most useful part of the book, providing a imaginative justification for policies achieving equity through relatively novel means. We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin. Adams, Ansel. BORN FREE AND EQUAL - THE STORY OF LOYAL JAPANESE-AMERICANS, U.S. Camera, NY, 1944. 1st editioon. Wraps, 112pp., text and photos by Adams. Stains to the cover, a loss at the foot of the spine, foxing and brownng throughout; still a serviceable copy of one of the earliest accounts of the internent of American citizens of Japanese descent during WWII. I enjoyed reading this book, but it is rather odd and I wish it was different. The premise is to provide example applications of Rawls' philosophy to improve society (with a particular focus on the UK and US). As such the first couple of chapters explain the philosophy - essentially that there exist a set of universal basic liberties which the society must guarantee to every citizen, and then anything else is fair game so long as it doesn't infringe the basic liberties and its extent is such to maximize quality of life for the least well off. For example, following Rawls, a society may allow a certain amount of wealth inequality to encourage growth and innovation, but as soon as this is damaging to the least well off the wealth should be redistributed. If we are really serious about creating a free and equal society, at least some of the ideas Chandler suggests are necessary. Whether the next Labour government has the bottle to put them into practice is another matter.

This is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of the left, and indeed the future of liberal democracy -- Jon Cruddas MP A tremendous book, timely, wise, authoritative and clear. The world will fall on it like tired labourers falling on a tray of donuts -- Stephen Fry

A robust and inspiring case for the philosophy of John Rawls, dragging his theory of justice down from Harvard's ivory towers and

Free and Equal has the potential not only to transform contemporary debate, but to offer a touchstone for a modern, egalitarian liberalism for many years to come, cementing Rawls’s place in political discourse, and firmly establishing Chandler as a vital new voice for our time.A timely and thought-provoking look into society, Chandler's insights are much needed in today's world. F ree and Equal offers a well-written perspective on how we live today and provides hope in practical ways for economies to operate for the better in the future Rupal Patel Funder reveals how O’Shaughnessy Blair self-effacingly supported Orwell intellectually, emotionally, medically and financially ... why didn’t Orwell do the same for his wife in her equally serious time of need?’

Chandler highlights ideas easily missed or misunderstood in Rawls that are particularly salient today, like his emphasis on intergenerational justice The first principle of justice is that everyone is entitled to the maximum freedom compatible with a like freedom for everyone else. This includes, for Rawls, freedom of religion, freedom of occupational choice, the right to personal property (but not the right to own the means of production) and personal freedoms such as the right to marry whomever we choose. The second principle comes in two parts. The first part is that we are entitled to fair equality of opportunity; the second is that inequalities can only be justified if they are arranged so that the worst-off are as well off as possible. This ‘worst off best off’ principle has sparked a very substantial literature, with free-marketeers either complaining that it infringes the freedom of the better-off or, more subtly, claiming that laissez-faire capitalism is what makes the worst-off as well off as possible. This is a book brimming with hope and possibility – a galvanising alternative to the cynicism that pervades our politics. Clear, brave, compelling. This book shows how to put values at the heart of politics in a rigorous way, and is an important contribution to the future of progressive politics David Miliband To be fair, in some cases Chandler’s recommendations flow naturally from Rawls’ work in ways that seem prescient given our current challenges. For example, Chandler’s call for a written constitution makes sense as a way to recognise the priority Rawls gives to basic liberties, and to make the protection of individual rights less precarious, given recent efforts to scrap the Human Rights Act. His discussion of Rawlsian ‘public reason’ – to simplify, the notion that our democratic arguments should be couched in terms of political values everyone can accept rather than controversial moral or religious worldviews – has obvious relevance to ongoing ‘culture war’ issues.While reading Huxley's Brave New World for my high-school English class, I obtained my very first serious interest: 'what would a good society look like?'. This book presents the best answer I've seen since I began studying economics and philosophy. Based on the work of egalitarian liberal philosopher John Rawls (which this book explains and defends, before focusing on its applications), this vision is far more attractive and intelligent than existing or proposed alternatives. After the abject failure of neoliberalism, we need a principled policy framework and handbook like this to move toward a society that is truly free, equal and prosperous. It's also heart-warming to see some of the world's leading economists (Angus Deaton, Amartya Sen) celebrate such a progressive and transformative Rawlsian agenda. This is the revolutionary thought experiment proposed by the twentieth century’s greatest political philosopher, John Rawls. As economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler argues in this hugely ambitious and exhilarating intervention, it is by rediscovering Rawls that we can find a way out of the escalating crises that are devastating our world today. That wishlist includes a universal basic income sufficient to eliminate poverty (costing about 25% of GDP) awarded to everyone irrespective of wealth, any other income, or whether they’re employed; tertiary education funded by a mix of free tuition and income-contingent loans, and a transfer of wealth to every citizen when they reach adulthood (a reform historically endorsed by the two Thomases, Paine and Piketty, and similar to Gordon Brown’s child trust fund).