Preface

I first met Jerry Cohen in Hilary term in the winter of 1985, when he arrived in Oxford to take up the Chichele Chair in Social and Political Theory at All Souls College. I was already embarked on my doctoral dissertation, which sought to use the resources of liberal legal and political philosophy to make a case for a theory of socialist law. It was a topic proximate to Cohen’s interests and I was excited by the prospect of him being in Oxford. My prior academic background was in the domain of critical theory and, with the exception of my acquaintance with C.B. Macpherson’s incisive work on the theory of ‘possessive individualism’, I was quite unschooled in analytical philosophy. I was therefore bowled over by Cohen’s combination of sharp-eyed precision and ardent radical commitment. It is perhaps unsurprising then, that as a huge admirer of his work and in awe of his compelling lectures, I feared looking a fool in a personal encounter. Meeting him both confirmed and dispelled my worries – he was as tough-minded an interlocutor as I anticipated, but also a delightful person, kind and tremendous fun.

Cohen’s tragic death in 2009 occasioned an outpouring of esteem and affection. This is due in part to Cohen’s unusual background that, as he frequently noted, shaped his scholarly pursuits. It was also due to the exceptional humanity he displayed in his dealings with others; he was not just ‘widely admired but loved’.1 I believe Jerry Cohen therefore makes for a specially interesting and compelling subject in the ‘Key Contemporary Thinkers’ series. Who could not be intrigued by the story of the young Jerry growing up in a Jewish Communist community in working-class Montreal, then finding dazzling success on the British philosophical scene, and ultimately holding a prestigious chair in Oxford? The life-long socialist whose philosophy was the fruits of ‘explicit political engagement’ and conviction? The ‘amazingly gifted political philosopher’ with an ‘inimitable voice’ who, though fiercely austere in his philosophical standards, could make ‘instant friendships with strangers’, who had a ‘contagious tenderness’ and could make people laugh ‘to the point of tears’?2

With such a rich background to draw upon, I chose to include much more of Cohen’s personal narrative than is customary in books of this kind. Cohen himself made so many references to his family background and politics that incorporating this material seemed the obvious thing to do. I hope readers will agree that the result exemplifies the way the ‘personal is political’ and makes for an illuminating read.

I found writing this book a daunting task. ‘What would Jerry think?’ I often pondered as I tried to articulate a complicated thought, wondered whether to include an anecdote, or made philosophical judgements about his work. I feel so fortunate to have known Jerry and enjoyed his friendship. I wanted to do justice to his place in the canon of political philosophy, but also to him, the person. Moreover, I’ve been acutely conscious of the scrutiny this book will receive, not just from philosophers, but also from Jerry’s family, colleagues and the many, many friends he made around the world and throughout his life.

Though daunting, working on this book has been an enormous pleasure in so many ways. Chief among them was the chance to spend time in Jerry’s world, to get to know and talk with so many people who knew and loved him. I am deeply grateful to the Cohen family. Jerry’s children, Gideon, Miriam and Sarah were wonderful in sharing their memories. I am very thankful to Miriam for the warm welcome to her family home so that I could pore over her father’s papers and engage her in discussion. His rusty filing cabinet was a treasure trove of materials that greatly enhanced the narrative I tell here. Jerry’s brother Michael kindly spent a day with me, gave me a vivid personal picture of his brother, and showed me around the ‘Jerry landmarks’ in Montreal. Maggie Cohen was good enough to speak with me at length about her marriage to Jerry and their life together raising a young family in London. I’ve been lucky enough to know Michèle Cohen for many years, and I am grateful to her for sharing memories of her beloved husband. Arnold Zuboff was enormously generous and enthusiastic in talking to me about his dear friend. I am also grateful to those Analytical Marxists, good friends of Jerry, who shared their memories and ideas: John Roemer, Hillel Steiner and Philippe Van Parijs. I thank Jo Wolff who met with me at a busy time for a very valuable conversation.

I started work on this book as a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University in spring 2018. I am grateful to the ANU faculty and graduate students for their interest in my research, and particularly Keith Dowding, my generous and supportive host.

I am indebted to the Warden and Fellows of All Souls, whose gracious and warm welcome enhanced the unique privilege of my Visiting Fellowship in Trinity term in 2022. Postponed for two years due to the Covid pandemic, my sojourn at All Souls was magical. The chance to spend time in Jerry’s cherished community, among his colleagues and friends, in such superb accommodations, was such a gift. I am truly grateful. I also thank the College staff – domestic, library, administrative, IT – who were all enormously helpful.

The deep connections Jerry forged with the fellows of All Souls meant many were forthcoming with stories and anecdotes. I thank John Vickers, Lucia Zedner, Avner Offer, David Gellner, David Addison, Santanu Das, Peregrine Hordin, Ian Rumfitt, Dame Marina Warner, Margaret Bent, Robin Briggs, Edward Hussey, Ian Maclean, David Parkin, Dan Segal, Sir Keith Thomas, Sarah Bufkin and Paul Seabright. A special thank you to Cécile Fabre who guided me during my time at All Souls, generously spoke to me at length about her former supervisor, and who became a good friend.

I am immensely grateful to Paula Casal, who organized a workshop at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona to discuss a draft of the book. Paula was a great advocate for the project, put together a wonderful programme of speakers, offered excellent advice, and was a superb host. Many thanks also to Nicholas Vrousalis, Mike Otsuka, Anca Gheaus and Zosia Stemplowska for their exceptionally acute and constructive commentaries and to Tom Parr, Serena Olsaretti, Andrew Williams and other participants at the Barcelona workshop for their tremendously valuable insights. I am also very grateful for the exceedingly helpful feedback from the anonymous reviewers of the proposal and manuscript, whose identities were later kindly disclosed to me: Mike Otsuka, Tom Parr, Matthew Clayton, Nicholas Vrousalis and Colin Macleod. I’m grateful to George Owers, the Polity editor who commissioned the book, and his unfailingly patient and sympathetic successor, Ian Malcolm, who was such an excellent source of support, guidance and enthusiasm. Thanks also to associate editor Ellen MacDonald-Kramer for all her assistance and Ian Tuttle for his helpful copyediting.

Many of the ideas in this book were shared at seminars and workshops. I thank the hosts and audiences at the Warwick Philosophy Department; the All Souls Visiting Fellows Colloquium; the University College Dublin Equality Studies Programme; the Political Philosophy Reading Group, and the Saturday Club speaker series, both at Queen’s University, Kingston; the Ralph Miliband Lecture Series at the London School of Economics; the University of Arizona Centre for Philosophy of Freedom; the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University; the Oxford-Queen’s Politics/Philosophy/Law Workshop at St. John’s College, Oxford; the Department of Philosophy at Havana University; the Prague Spring Interdisciplinary Workshop in Prague; the National Trust National Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick; the University of Melbourne Legal Theory Workshop; the Moral, Social and Political Theory Seminar at the Australian National University in Canberra; the Montréal meetings of the European Consortium of Political Research; the Philosophy Seminar at the Institute of Education, University College London; the Nuffield Political Theory Workshop in Oxford; and the annual conference of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain at New College, Oxford.

Many conversations contributed to my understanding of Jerry, his life and work, and how best to approach this project. I am grateful to Will Kymlicka, Adam Swift, David Miller, Margaret Moore, Andrew Lister, Jeff Collins, Colin Farrelly, Alistair Macleod, Elliot Paul, Shlomi Segall, Keith Dowding, Henry Laycock, Rahul Kumar, Sue Donaldson, Kerah Gordon-Solmon, Ben Ewing, Robin Archer, Wendy Webster, Cheryl Misak, David Dyzenhaus, Pablo Gilabert, Igor Schoikhedbrod, Glen Coulthard, Lois McNay, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Patrick Tomlin, Alice Crary, Michael Kremer, David Brink, Daniel Weinstock, Jeroen Knijff and Lois McNay.

I must also mention the political philosophy graduate students at Queen’s, several of whom attended the Political Philosophy Reading Group or were members of my ‘Justice League’ research group, for their invaluable insights. Among them are Owen Clifton, Michael Luoma, Arthur Hill, Yuanjin Xia, Aidan Testa, Josh Mosely, Jessica...