Inequality /

Temkin prefers the economist's terminology of inequality and he draws upon economic literature, but this is an important contribution to recent philosophical discussions of justice and equality. The author's aim is to clarify and understand the concept of equality, especially with regard to evaluating alternative distributions, and he begins with pretheoretical egalitarian judgments. This is a splendid work in analytic philosophy. However, it is more: using a Rawlsian method of reflective equilibrium, Temkin also aims at normative conclusions--among them, that inequality is highly complex, individualistic, and essentially comparative. Although a difficult and highly theoretical work, it is replete with examples and summaries; it also discusses issues with important practical bearings, e.g., whether individuals or groups should be the focus of our egalitarian judgments; whether inequality is more important in poor than in rich societies; whether variations in population affect our judgments; whether promoting equality sometimes requires first promoting inequality. A good index, bibliography, and helpful footnotes with discussions of the relevant literature make this a useful reference as well as an important contribution. Advanced undergraduate and graduate collections. R. H. Evans; University of MinnesotaDSDuluth