Beyond Justice

Introduction

“Beyond Justice” (1987), written in exile, marks Heller’s turn from a Marxist philosophy of history to a pluralist ethics and political theory. The book traces concepts of justice from Plato and Aristotle through natural law to modern theories, including those of John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas. Heller distinguishes a formal concept – applying the same norms and rules consistently to all members of a social group – from substantive ethico-political concepts, and argues that under modern pluralism no complete concept of justice can be defended. She proposes instead an “incomplete” ethico-political concept grounded in the universal values of freedom and life. The final chapter sketches the good life, which presupposes justice but goes beyond it: honesty, the development of one’s endowments into talents, and emotional depth in personal attachments.

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