Michael Sandel's Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? invites readers of all ages and political persuasions on a journey of moral reflection, and shows how reasoned debate can illuminate our lives.Is it always wrong to lie?Should there be limits to personal freedom?Can killing sometimes be justified?Is the free market fair?What is the right thing to do?Questions like these are at the heart of our lives. In this acclaim...

A renowned Harvard professor's brilliant, sweeping, inspiring account of the role of justice in our society--and of the moral dilemmas we face as citizensWhat are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good con...

Our civic life is not going very well. Public discourse is a foul brew of insult, outrage, and tired talking points. Politicians shout past each other without really listening. Fierce partisanship is nothing new; but today, political rancour seeps into social relations and everyday life. Parents now worry less about their children marrying outside the faith than marrying across party lines.The renowned political philosopher Michael J. Sandel has a solution. Our democracy is in dang...

A Times Literary Supplement’s Book of the Year 2020A New Statesman's Best Book of 2020A Bloomberg's Best Book of 2020A Guardian Best Book About Ideas of 2020The world-renowned philosopher and author of the bestselling Justice explores the central question of our time: What has become of the common good?These are dangerous tim...

In this compelling dialogue, two of the world’s most influential thinkers reflect on the value of equality and debate what citizens and governments should do to narrow the gaps that separate us. Ranging across economics, philosophy, history, and current affairs, Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel consider how far we have come in achieving greater equality. At the same time, they confront head-on the extreme divides that remain in wealth, income, power, and status nationally and globally.

A chorus of essays from a variety of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, exploring what it means to be human and true to yourself.What does it mean to be yourself? To be born here or somewhere else? To be from one family instead of another? What does it mean to be human? Collected by Lori Carlson-Hijuelos, A Path to the World showcases essays by a vast variety of luminaries—from Gary Soto to Nawal Nasrallah to Ying Ying Yu, from chefs to artists...

From the winner of the 2025 Berggruen PrizeA renowned political philosopher updates his classic book on the American political tradition to address the perils democracy confronts today.The 1990s were a heady time. The Cold War had ended, and America’s version of liberal capitalism seemed triumphant. And yet, amid the peace and prosperity, anxieties about the project of self-government could be glimpsed beneath the surface.So argued ...

**A TLS, GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020The new bestseller from the acclaimed author of Justice and one of the world's most popular philosophers**"Astute, insightful, and empathetic...A crucial book for this moment" Tara Westover, author of EducatedThese are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunat...

A liberal society seeks not to impose a single way of life, but to leave its citizens as free as possible to choose their own values and ends. It therefore must govern by principles of justice that do not presuppose any particular vision of the good life. But can any such principles be found? And if not, what are the consequences for justice as a moral and political ideal? These are the questions Michael Sandel takes up in this penetrating critique of contemporary liberalism. Sandel locate...

“Sandel explores a paramount question of our era: how to extend the power and promise of biomedical science to overcome debility without compromising our humanity. His arguments are acute and penetrating, melding sound logic with compassion.”—Jerome Groopman, author of How Doctors ThinkBreakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. ...

In this book, Michael Sandel takes up some of the hotly contested moral and political issues of our time, including affirmative action, assisted suicide, abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, the meaning of toleration and civility, the gap between rich and poor, the role of markets, and the place of religion in public life. He argues that the most prominent ideals in our political life--individual rights and freedom of choice--do not by themselves provide an adequate ethic for a democr...

In the West, Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel is a thinker of unusual prominence. In China, he’s a phenomenon, greeted by vast crowds. China Daily reports that he has acquired a popularity “usually reserved for Hollywood movie stars.” China Newsweek declared him the “most influential foreign figure” of the year. In Sandel the Chinese have found a guide through the ethical dilemmas created by the nation’s swift embrace of a market economy—a guide whose communitarian idea...