Justice A Reader

Justice brings together in one indispensable volume essential readings on justice and moral reasoning. With readings from major thinkers from the classical era up to the present, the collection provides a thematic overview of the concept of justice. Moreover, Sandel's organization of the readings and his own commentaries allow readers to engage with a variety of pressing contemporary issues. Looking at a host of ethical dilemmas, including affirmative action, conscription, income distribution, and gay rights, from a variety of angles--morally, legally, politically--the collection engages with the core concerns of political philosophy: individual rights and the claims of community, equality and inequality, morality and law, and ultimately, justice. With concise section introductions that put the readings in context, this anthology is an invaluable tool for students, teachers, and anyone who wishes to engage in the great moral debates that have animated politics from classical times to our own.

I. Introduction: Doing the Right Thing; The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens (1884)(The lifeboat case); II. Utilitarianism; Jeremy Bentham: Principles of Morals and Legistlation; John Stuart Mill: Utilitiarianism; III. Libertarianism; Milton and Rose Friedman: Free to Choose; Robert Nozick: Anarchy, State, and Utopia; Friedrich A. Hayek: The Constitution of Liberty; IV. Locke: Property Rights; John Locke: Second Treatise of Government; V. Markets and Morals: Surrogate Motherhood, Military Service; Guido Calabresi and Philop Bobbit: Tragic Choices; James M. McPherson: Battle Cry of Freedom; James Traub: "All Go Down Together"; In the Matter of Baby 'M' (1987); In the Matter of Baby 'M' (1988, N.J.Supreme Court); Elizabeth S. Anderson: "Is Women's Labor a Commodity?"; VI. Kant: Freedom as Autonomy; Immanuel Kant: Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals; Immanuel Kant: "On the Supposed Right to Lie"; VII. Rawls: Justice as Fairness; John Rawls: A Theory of Justice; VIII. Distributive Justice: Equality, Entitlement, and Merit; John Rawls: A Theory of Justice; Robert Nozick: Anarchy, State, and Utopia; IX. Affirmative Action: Reverse Discrimination?; Richard Bernstein: "Racial Discrimination or Righting Past Wrongs?"; Hopwood v. State of Texas (1996); Grutter v. Bollinger (2003); Ronald Dworkin: "Bakke's Case: Are Quotas Unfair?"; Jefferson Morley: "Double Reverse Discrimination"; Michael Brus: "Proxy War: Liberals Denounce Racial Profiling. Conservatives Denounce Affirmative Action. What's the Difference?"; X. Aristotle: Justice and Virtue; Aristotle: The Politics; Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics; XI. Ability, Disability, and Discrimination: Cheerleaders and golf carts; Sue Anne Pressley: "A Safety Blitz; Texas Cheerleader Loses Status"; Michael J. Sandel: "Honor and Resentment"; Bob Ryan: "Sorry, Free Rides Not Right"; Tom Kite: "Keep the PGA on Foot"; PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin (2000); XII. Justice, Community, and Membership; Alasdair MacIntyre: After Virtue; Michael J. Sandel: Democracy's Discontent; Michael Walzer: Spheres of Justice; XIII. Moral Argument and Liberal Toleration; John Rawls: Moral Liberalism; Michael J. Sandel: "Political Liberalism"; XV. Morality and Law: Same-Sex Marriage, For and Against; Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health (2003); Michael Kinsey: "Abolish Marriage"; John M. Finnis: "Law, Morality, and 'Sexual Orientation'"; Stephen Macedo: "Homosexuality and the Conservative Mind"; Robin West: "Universalism, Liberal Theory, and the Problem of Gay Marriage"

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980. He is the author of numerous books, including Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Democracy's Discontent, Public Philosophy and most recently, The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering.