the idea of social justice itself has beensubverted, as the mantras of personal responsibility and equalopportunity have been employed as an excuse for doing nothing aboutthe enrichment of the few at the expense of the many and for makingever harsher demands on the poor and vulnerable. With grace and wit, Brian Barry exposes the shoddy logic anddistortion of reality that underpins this ideology. Once weunderstand the role of the social structure in limiting options, wehave to recognize that really putting into practice ideas such asequal opportunity and personal responsibility would require afundamental transformation of almost all existing institutions.Barry argues that only if inequalities of wealth and income arekept within a narrow range can equal prospects for education,health and autonomy be realized. He proposes a number of policiesto achieve a more equal society and argues that they areeconomically feasible. But are they politically possible?The apparent stability of the status quo is delusory, heresponds: radical changes in our way of life are unavoidable.Whether these changes are for better or for worse depends partly onthe availability of a coherent set of principles and a programmeflowing from them that is capable of mobilizing the growingdiscontent with business as usual. That is, ultimately, why socialjustice matters.

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