| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Choice and markets have always been central to liberalism. Liberals wants people to choose their occupation, their partners, and what goods to buy. All liberals agree that making choices is central to the autonomous life. But the scope and conditions of choice quickly becomes controversial among liberals, as the four books under review reveal. Joan Tronto and Michael Sandel worry about the spread of market thinking to all other spheres of life, John Tomasi argues that too many contemporary liberals underestimate the importance of economic liberty, while Sarah Conly argues that we have a large swath of empirical evidence to question the idea that individuals can readily make correct rational decisions. Conly is not against individual autonomy, but she urges us to recognize autonomy's limitations. While political theorists are often reluctant to think about policy, doing so is certainly a virtue when the topic is markets and choice; one of the strengths of Conly's and Tronto's books is their willingness to apply their arguments to specific policy realms.
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