One of Harvard’s most popular and prominent courses is Michael J. Sandel’s “Justice.” Up to a thousand students crowd the college auditorium to hear Sandel connect huge philosophical ideas to today’s most pressing challenges, and public television will premiere a series based on the course this fall. Justice takes readers on the same thrilling adventure that enthrals Harvard undergraduates. This book is a probing, poetic examination of what it means to be just, inviting readers of all political stripes to explore familiar debates in new and enlightening ways. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, patriotism and dissent, the moral boundaries of markets—Sandel dramatises the difficulty of thinking through these con?icts, and shows how a clearer understanding can be achieved.
