Abstract

In this brief lecture I intend to consider some aspects of the theory of justice as proposed by Amartya Sen in his 2009 book, The idea of justice, where, besides summarizing his intellectual journey, Sen broadens the scope of his critique of John Rawls. I would like to focus on this particular feature of Sen’s recent thinking, trying to situate it in its comparative approach of justice. As I show, Sen does not appear committed to propose a theory of justice that is exactly new, but to analyze which aspects of the existing theories, particularly the Rawlsian one, have prevented, or at least have not favored the effective attainment of justice that they themselves advocate.