Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to appeal to readers both in academia engaged in discussions of philosophy, policy, or housing and practitioners in the housing sector. It argues that there is a correlation between the work of philosophers and policy-makers, and that the process of the creation of policy can be strengthened through the application of philosophy. The book asserts that this application of philosophical analysis can be relevant in the case of housing policy in particular. It outlines how John Rawls' concept of justice as fairness, and in particular his tool of the difference principle, can be used as an analytical philosophical framework. The book explores areas of contention with the Rawlsian account of justice, namely, its focus on primary goods as the metric of equality.