Academic

Download of the Week

By Lawrence Solum

The Download of the Week is Liberty and Equality by Arthur Ripstein.  Here is the abstract:

More than two decades ago, Ronald Dworkin described equality as "a popular but mysterious political ideal." More recently he described it as the "endangered species" of political ideals. Yet both its claim and its mystery persist. It is mysterious because its demands are not always clear and its relation to other values seldom is. A long tradition in political philosophy supposes that the ideas of liberty and equality conflict irreconcilably. The most we can hope for, on this view, is for some acceptable compromise between them. Dworkin's writings about equality hold out the more appealing prospect that, far from being opposed values, liberty and equality are inseparable.

Highly recommended.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on August 09, 2008 (boomark / email).