From the Introduction
to Distributive Justice and Fair Exchange
As members of organized groups and society at large, we engage in meaningful social action based on our knowledge of prevailing social conditions. Such knowledge is often unreliable or erroneous. It usually consists of impressionistic news headlines and stories reflecting social myths and yesteryear ideologies. Even when it is obtained with the help of a social scientific method, our social knowledge may be misleading.
Many observers note that old formulas and approaches do not apply anymore. Classical economic theory was shaken by Marxism a century and a half ago, and again by Keynes following the Great Depression. If history is any teacher, the current world-wide socioeconomic upheaval may force us to change fundamental beliefs about our social world and about our best practices aimed at its improvement.
