Our society is in crisis — culture wars, unprecedented dissatisfaction with democracy, vast inequalities, a climate and ecological emergency. LSE economist Daniel Chandler joins politician Vince Cable to share the answer.

John Rawls revolutionised philosophy, and is routinely compared to figures such as Plato, Hobbes and Mill – yet his distinctive vision of a fair society has had little impact on politics, until now.

One of the most exciting young thinkers in British politics today, Daniel Chandler joins Vince Cable to show how Rawls’s ideas can illuminate the path to a better future, building a careful and ultimately irresistible case for a progressive agenda that would reinvigorate democracy and transform capitalism.

With moral clarity and infectious optimism, he will bring together the most exciting ideas from around the world – taking in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre’s experiment with participatory democracy, the abolition of fee-paying schools in Finland, burgeoning global interest in a universal basic income and Germany’s model of worker co-management – and transform them into a coherent political agenda.

Praise for Daniel Chandler’s Free and Equal:

“A robust and inspiring case for the philosophy of John Rawls, dragging his theory of justice down from Harvard’s ivory towers and into the street with the people” – Zadie Smith

“Daniel Chandler provides us with the moral basis for an ambitious egalitarian agenda, and a roadmap for putting this into practice. It is a must-read!” – Thomas Piketty

“This book will meet a very important need, bringing philosophy and political economy together” – Amartya Sen