This book argues that contemporary liberal societies are rife with civic divisions related to the past, and that coming to terms with this past is a phenomenon of utmost importance for citizens and liberal societies. It has been assumed that, however widespread and deep this phenomenon, this history or past is outside the bounds of the most prominent theory of liberal justice, i.e. Rawlss theory. This book argues that this is a mistake, that the scope of justice needs to encompass historical rectification, and that Rawlss theory must show concern for historical injustice.
This book examines the empirical and normative evidence granting the significance of historical rectification. It argues that coming to terms with a past shaped by political violence bears extremely high importance to liberal societies. This book is of interest to contemporary political philosophers, political theorists, and those interested in the role of principles of justice for politics and public political culture. It draws on fundamental Rawlsian insights and concepts to rigorously theorise some of the most important and recurrent challenges in addressing past wrongdoing.
1. Introduction.- 2. Historical Rectification: Self-Respect, Mutual
Respect, and Stability.-
3. Critical Historical Narratives: Liberal
Integrity, the Second Moral Power, and Reasonableness.-
4. Is historical
rectification outside of the scope of rawlss theory?.-
5. Towards a
Principle of Historical Rectification For Ideal Theory.-
6. Confronting the
Past In An Ideal Society Of Peoples.-
7. Some Remarks on Non-Ideal Theory
Implementation.
Juan Espindola (PhD, University of Michigan) is a researcher at the Institute for Philosophical Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His research focuses on transitional justice, espionage, and artificial intelligence. He is the author of Atrocity without Punishment: A Political Theory of Leniency in Mexico's "War on Drugs" (Stanford University Press, 2026), Transitional Justice after German Reunification: Exposing Unofficial Collaborators (Cambridge University Press, 2015), and co-editor of Understanding Collaboration in Authoritarian and Armed Conflict Settings (Oxford University Press, 2022). His work has appeared in journals such as Ethics and International Affairs, Theoretical Criminology, Journal of Social Philosophy, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Res Publica, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Studies in Philosophy and Education, and others.
Moisés Vaca (PhD in Philosophy, University College London) is a researcher at the Institute for Philosophical Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). His work focuses on liberal egalitarianism and Rawlsian theory, including issues related to victims of historical injustice, minority cultures, women, the LGBT+ community, solidarity, public reason, and polarization. His work has been published in journals such as Bioethics, Crítica, Dianoia, Ethics and Global Politics, Hypatia, Latin American Journal of Political Philosophy, Res Publica, and others.
