Abstract

The cause of (if not the solution for) the growing social gap and a certain impasse in today's society may be found in the increasingly globalised market economy as well as in the changes in traditional social systems that have hitherto been relatively stable. This free economy has its roots in a genealogy of "liberalism" that is typically represented by John Locke, who advocated the individual's unlimited economic activity in England and America of the 17th century. In contrast to this is the political philosophy of Leibniz, who criticizes Locke for letting "free will" be cut from "reason". Leibniz characterizes justice as "social". Leibniz' concept of "justice" not only embodies quantitative equality, but also the "individuality" of unique beings and "variety" in the world of such individuals within the context of his own monadological metaphysics