Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz

Ripe for Dessert by David Lebovitz

This book gives an account of a full spectrum of property rights and their relationship to individual liberty. It shows that a purely deontological approach to justice can deal with the most complex questions regarding the property system. Moreover, the author considers the economic, ecological, and technological complexities of our-real world property systems. The result is a more conceptually sound account of natural rights and property rights.

If we think that liberty should be at the centre of justice, what does that mean for the property system? Economists and lawyers widely agree that a property system must be composed of many different types of property: the kind of private ownership one has over one's person and immediate possessions, as well as the kinds of common ownership we each have in our local streets, as well as many more. However, theories of property and justice have not given anything approaching an adequate account of the relationship between liberty and any other form of property other than private ownership. It is often thought that a basic commitment to liberty cannot really tell us how to arrange the major complexities of the property system that diverge from simple private ownership.

Property and Justice demonstrates how philosophical rigour coupled with interdisciplinary engagement enables us think clearly about how to deal with real world problems. It will be of interest to political philosophers, political theorists, and legal theorists working on property rights and justice.

DAVID LEBOVITZ has worked as a professional cook and baker for most of his life, spending nearly thirteen years at Chez Panisse until leaving to write books in 1999. In 2004, David relocated to Paris and launched davidlebovitz.com, a hugely successful blog. He is the author of six books, including The Perfect Scoop, Ready for Dessert, The Great Book of Chocolate, and a memoir titled The Sweet Life in Paris, and the San Francisco Chronicle named him one of the Bay Area's Top Five Pastry Chefs.