A liberal society seeks not to impose a single way of life, but to leave its citizens as free as possible to choose their own values and ends. It therefore must govern by principles of justice that do not presuppose any particular vision of the good life. But can any such principles be found? And if not, what are the consequences for justice as a moral and political ideal? These are the questions Michael Sandel takes up in this penetrating critique of contemporary liberalism. Sandel locates modern liberalism in the tradition of Kant, and focuses on its most influential recent expression in the work of John Rawls. In the most important challenge yet to Rawls' theory of justice, Sandel traces the limits of liberalism to the conception of the person that underlies it, and argues for a deeper understanding of community than liberalism allows.

邁剋爾·J. 桑德爾（Michael J. Sandel），當代美國最有影響的公眾知識分子之一。他是哈佛大學政治學教授，講授當代政治哲學與政治思想史，著作有《民主的不滿：追求公眾哲學的美國》、《自由主義與正義的局限》、《自由主義及其批評者》等。