"Not all men - wrote Luigi Einaudi in 1942 - have a soldier's or a captain's soul, willing to obey and to fight every day for as long as they live. Many, very many, perhaps everybody at a certain point in their life feels the need for repose, protection, refuge. They want a haven in which to rest. They want to feel momentarily defended by a trench against the endless torment of competition, of emulation, of rivalry".
Up to what point can competition govern society without tearing it asunder and up to what point can the welfare state protect it withour levelling it, are questions raised by Einaudi which have become acutely relevant again today. Adopting various perspectives - historic, economic, epistemological, linguistic - the authors of this book examine the issues of social justice, the equality of starting points and the ability to innovate, not only of the economy but of society as a whole.
