Jan Srzednicki's The Democratic Perspective: Political and Social Philosophy ² examines the problem confronting social planners of inadequate knowledge. As he puts it, '[w]e are faced... with the task of planning for sociopolitical betterment and development in [the] absence of the necessary background and detailed knowledge'.³ In turning to political philosophy, then, far from deserting his overriding concern with epistemological issues, he sees them as crucial.