Liberalism and the Limits of Justice

Sandel's Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982) is his doctoral dissertation-turned-book that critiques Rawls's theory of justice from a communitarian perspective.

Sandel argues that Rawlsian liberalism presupposes an 'unencumbered self' — a self prior to and independent of its ends and community — which is both philosophically incoherent and politically dangerous because it makes the communal ties and moral commitments that give life meaning invisible to justice.