Ronald Dworkin

Providing a lively and informed introduction to the last hundred years of political thinking--from T.H. Green's lectures to Ronald Dworkin's Taking Rights Seriously--the third volume in the successful Political Classics series has been designed to enable all students of political ideas to gain a fuller appreciation of the great works which form the foundation of the subject. Besides giving a full analysis of the contents of each text, this book also highlights what makes the texts of central importance to an understanding of political philosophy. The twelve chapters concentrate on the ideas contained in the texts, rather than on the lives of their writers, and each chapter is supplemented with useful suggestions for further reading.

This important new study presents a systematic and definitive critique of Ronald Dworkin's highly influential theory of liberal equality. Focusing on the connection Dworkin attempts to establish between economic markets and liberal egalitarian political morality, the study examines his contention that markets have an indispensable role to play in the articulation of liberal ideals of distributive justice, individual liberty, and state neutrality. Subjecting the central tenents of this theory to sustained critical analysis, the author argues that Dworkin's attempt to establish deep affinities between the market and equality is unsuccessful and his proposed solutions to some central controversies in political theory are seriously flawed. This powerful examination of the work of America's leading public philosopher reveals some timely lessons about the hazards and limitations of the market as a device for the articulation and realization of egalitarian justice.

Is the nature of law to be formal procedure or to embody substantive value? This work deals with the traditional conflict in legal philosophy between positivistic and anti-positivistic theories of law. It examines the conflict with respect to seven central issues in legal philosophy--law as a reason for action, law and authority, the internal point of view to law, the acceptance of law, discretion and principle, interpretation and semantics, and law and the common good. This work argues that although this conflict cannot be resolved, the true nature of law is revealed--not obscured--by this perennial situation.

Interpretation has emerged in recent years as one of the most interesting and important elements of legal scholarship. This collection of new essays in law and interpretation provides an overview of this important topic, written by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field. The collection assesses the role of legislative intent in the interpretation of statutes, and in determining legal standards. This collection will appeal not only to lawyers and to legal theorists, but to all scholars of legal discourse.

This book addresses a central topic in contemporary jurisprudence, namely, whether it is possible for legal interpretations to be objective. The author argues that objectivity is possible in law, and grounds this possibility firmly in metaphysics, philosophy of mind and language, and meta-ethics. He then systematically explores the philosophical prejudices that have operated as sources of resistance to this possibility. These prejudices, once identified, help to illuminate fundamental debates in jurisprudence.

This book develops a general philosophical theory about the nature of law and its relationship with morality called inclusive legal positivism. In addition to articulating and defending his own version of legal positivism, which is a refinement and development of the views of H.L.A. Hart as expressed in his classic book The Concept of Law, the author clarifies the terms of current jurisprudential debates about the nature of law. These debates are often clouded by failures to appreciate that different theorists are offering different kinds of theories and attempting to answer different questions. The clarity of Waluchow's work will help to remove the confusion often present in jurisprudential debate.