Wanjiru Njoya, Economic Freedom and Social Justice: The Classical Ideal of Equality in Contexts of Racial Diversity, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, 281 pages

Wanjiru Njoya’s Economic Freedom and Social Justice insightfully examines the foundations and effects of contemporary equality law, mainly applied to issues of employment and race. On this topic, Njoya criticizes approaches requiring what people variously describe as “equity” in contrast with equality, substantive equality, or equal outcomes. The book rejects such approaches’ fundamental premises and argues that the corresponding policies worsen things overall. Positively, Njoya defends a classical liberal approach focusing on individual liberty, economic freedom, and formal equality within the rule of law. That defense includes arguing that the classical liberal approach is appropriate even in societies with histories of slavery, racial segregation, and similar injustices.

Njoya explicitly writes from a classical liberal perspective and draws extensive support from classical liberal scholars, including Thomas Sowell, Walter E. Williams, Robert Higgs, Chandran Kukathas, Murray Rothbard, and Ludwig von Mises. A reader versed in those authors will find familiar the book’s framework and Njoya’s (p. 250) overall view that “[i]n the context of racial equality classical liberalism offers little for governments to do other than to step back and make way for market participants to “do for self’.” From this perspective, the book’s many novel arguments significantly add to and enhance the existing classical liberal scholarship. The book does not, however, assume that readers are versed in that literature, so the book remains accessible and excellently introduces readers without that background to the classical liberal tradition.

The target audience includes scholars across multiple disciplines. While the book engages with complicated issues in law, philosophy, and economics, it remains accessible. Njoya effectively provides relevant background and context for readers unfamiliar with material from these disciplines. The book is highly valuable for scholars in these fields. It could also be used as a primary text in undergraduate courses or fruitfully read by the broader interested public.

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