The Faces of Injustice

Author: Judith N. Shklar
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300056709
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
How can we distinguish between injustice and misfortune? What can we learn from the victims of calamity about the sense of injustice they harbor? In this book a distinguished political theorist ponders these and other questions and formulates a new political and moral theory of injustice that encompasses not only deliberate acts of cruelty or unfairness but also indifference to such acts. Judith N. Shklar draws on the writings of Plato, Augustine, and Montaigne, three skeptics who gave the theory of injustice its main structure and intellectual force, as well as on political theory, history, social psychology, and literature from sources as diverse as Rosseau, Dickens, Hardy, and E. L. Doctorow. Shklar argues that we cannot set rigid rules to distinguish instances of misfortune from injustice, as most theories of justice would have us do, for such definitions would not take into account historical variability and differences in perception and interest between the victims and spectators. From the victim's point of view--whether it be one who suffered in an earthquake or as a result of social discrimination--the full definition of injustice must include not only the immediate cause of disaster but also our refusal to prevent and then to mitigate the damage, or what Shklar calls passive injustice. With this broader definition comes a call for greater responsibility from both citizens and public servants. When we attempt to make political decisions about what to do in specific instances of injustice, says Shklar, we must give the victim's voice its full weight. This is in keeping with the best impulses of democracy and is our only alternative to a complacency that is bound to favor the unjust.

Ordinary Vices

Author: Judith N. Shklar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674641754
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
The seven deadly sins of Christianity represent the abysses of character, whereas Shklar's "ordinary vices"--cruelty, hypocrisy, snobbery, betrayal, and misanthropy--are merely treacherous shoals, flawing our characters with mean-spiritedness and inhumanity. Shklar draws from a brilliant array of writers--Moliere and Dickens on hypocrisy, Jane Austen on snobbery, Shakespeare and Montesquieu on misanthropy, Hawthorne and Nietzsche on cruelty, Conrad and Faulkner on betrayal--to reveal the nature and effects of the vices. She examines their destructive effects, the ambiguities of the moral problems they pose to the liberal ethos, and their implications for government and citizens: liberalism is a difficult and challenging doctrine that demands a tolerance of contradiction, complexity, and the risks of freedom.

On Political Obligation

Author: Judith N. Shklar
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300214995
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
A compelling set of lectures on political obligation that contributes to ongoing debates in political theory and intellectual history This stimulating collection of lectures by the late Judith Shklar on political obligation is paired with a scholarly introduction that offers an overview of her life, illuminates the connections among her teaching, research, and publications, and explains why her lectures still resonate with us and contribute to current debates in political theory and intellectual history.

Drawn to Injustice

Author: Timothy Masters
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101585129
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Book Description
Timothy Masters was a lonely, troubled teenager with a penchant for gory artwork when he first saw Peggy Lee Hettrick… …her dead, mutilated body nearly frozen in the early morning of Fort Collins, Colorado. Not believing it could really be a dead body, thinking he was the victim of yet another prank by his abusive classmates, the fifteen-year-old didn’t go to the police—but they came to him. So began a decade-long investigation led by a relentless detective who was sure that Masters was the killer, even without a shred of physical evidence. Against all reason, a conspiracy of silence and circumstantial evidence eventually put Masters behind bars. Only the determination of a lone investigator who believed the young man was innocent would reveal the shocking truth, and free Masters after ten years in prison. This is the compelling true story of one life ended in blood and murder, one life ruined by coincidence and prejudice, and justice long denied but finally found.

Against Injustice

Author: Reiko Gotoh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139483668
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Book Description
Traditional theories of justice as formulated by political philosophers, jurists and economists have all tended to see injustice as simply a breach of justice, a breakdown of the normal order. Amartya Sen's work acts as a corrective to this tradition by arguing that we can recognise patent injustices, and come to a reasoned agreement about the need to remedy them, without reference to an explicit theory of justice. Against Injustice brings together distinguished academics from a variety of different fields - including economics, law, philosophy and anthropology - to explore the ideas underlying Sen's critique of traditional approaches to injustice. The centrepiece of the book is the first chapter by Sen in which he outlines his conception of the relationship between economics, ethics and law. The rest of the book addresses a variety of theoretical and empirical issues that relate to this conception, concluding with a response from Sen to his critics.

Unfair

Author: Adam Benforado
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770437761
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
A legal scholar exposes the psychological forces that undermine the American criminal justice system, arguing that unless hidden biases are addressed, social inequality will widen, and proposes reforms to prevent injustice and help achieve true equality before the law.

After Utopia

Author: Judith N. Shklar
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691200866
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Book Description
A political philosophy classic from one of the foremost political thinkers of the twentieth century After Utopia was Judith Shklar’s first book, a harbinger of her renowned career in political philosophy. Throughout the many changes in political thought during the last half century, this important work has withstood the test of time. In After Utopia, Shklar explores the decline of political philosophy, from Enlightenment optimism to modern cultural despair, and she offers a critical, creative analysis of this downward trend. She looks at Romantic and Christian social thought, and she shows that while the present political fatalism may be unavoidable, the prophets of despair have failed to explain the world they so dislike, leaving the possibility of a new and vigorous political philosophy. With a foreword by Samuel Moyn, examining After Utopia’s continued relevance, this current edition introduces a remarkable synthesis of ideas to a new generation of readers.

Legalism

Author: Judith N. Shklar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674523517
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Incisively and stylishly written, this book constitutes an open challenge to reconsider the fundamental question of the relationship of law to society.

Voices of Justice

Author: George Ella Lyon
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
ISBN: 1250809738
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 27

Book Description
A bold, lyrical collection of poems that highlight some of the most celebrated activists from around the world and throughout history. In the face of injustice, the world has always looked to brave individuals to speak up and spark change. Nelson Mandela used his voice to bring down Apartheid. Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birutè Galdikas gave a voice to the primates who couldn’t speak for themselves. The Women of Greenham Common used their collective voice to fight against preparations for nuclear war. And today’s youth—like Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, and Greta Thunberg—unite their voices to stop gun violence, save the planet, and so much more. Through enlightening poems by award-winning poet and author George Ella Lyon and stunning portraits by artist Jennifer M. Potter, Voices of Justice introduces young readers to the groundbreaking work of people who fought—and continue to fight—to make the world a better place. Featuring those mentioned above along with Virginia Woolf, Dolores Huerta, Shirley Chisholm, Jasilyn Charger, Jeannette Rankin, and more, each portrait offers a vision of action and love that gets up and does something, no matter the forces ranged against it, no matter the odds.

Injustice for All

Author: Chris Surprenant
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000750523
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
American criminal justice is a dysfunctional mess. Cops are too violent, the punishments are too punitive, and the so-called Land of the Free imprisons more people than any other country in the world. Understanding why means focusing on color—not only on black or white (which already has been studied extensively), but also on green. The problem is that nearly everyone involved in criminal justice—including district attorneys, elected judges, the police, voters, and politicians—faces bad incentives. Local towns often would rather send people to prison on someone else’s dime than pay for more effective policing themselves. Local police forces can enrich themselves by turning into warrior cops who steal from innocent civilians. Voters have very little incentive to understand the basic facts about crime or how to fix it—and vote accordingly. And politicians have every incentive to cater to voters’ worst biases. Injustice for All systematically diagnoses why and where American criminal justice goes wrong, and offers functional proposals for reform. By changing who pays for what, how people are appointed, how people are punished, and which things are criminalized, we can make the US a country which guarantees justice for all. Key Features: Shows how bad incentives, not "bad apples," cause the dysfunction in American criminal justice Focuses not only on overincarceration, but on overcriminalization and other failures of the criminal justice system Provides a philosophical and practical defense of reducing the scope of what’s considered criminal activity Crosses ideological lines, highlighting both the weaknesses and strengths of liberal, conservative, and libertarian agendas Fully integrates tools from philosophy and social science, making this stand out from the many philosophy books on punishment, on the one hand, and the solely empirical studies from sociology and criminal science, on the other Avoids disciplinary jargon, broadening the book’s suitability for students and researchers in many different fields and for an interested general readership Offers plausible reforms that realign specific incentives with the public good.