Liberalism's Troubled Search for Equality: Religion and Cultural Bias in the Oregon Physician-Assisted Suicide Debates [Paperback]

Robert P. Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 026803267X | ISBN-13: 978-0268032678 | Publication Date: February 28, 2007 | Edition: 1

In Liberalism's Troubled Search for Equality, Robert P. Jones presents a penetrating examination of physician-assisted suicide that exposes unresolved tensions deep within liberal political theory. Jones asks why egalitarian liberal philosophers--most notably, Ronald Dworkin and John Rawls--support legalized physician-assisted suicide in direct opposition to groups of disadvantaged citizens they theoretically champion. Jones argues that egalitarian liberals ought to oppose physician-assisted suicide--at least until we find the political will to ensure access to health care for all. More broadly, Jones challenges progressives to find the heart of the liberal tradition not in allegedly neutral appeals to "choice" but in a renewed commitment to equality and social justice that welcomes public religious voices as allies.

"In this engrossing study of debates over physician-assisted suicide, Jones has issued a challenge to liberals. The old idea that liberalism is morally neutral and culturally unbiased will have to be discarded. But in doing so, liberals just may find allies among religious and other voices fighting for equality." --Amy Sullivan, The Washington Monthly

"Liberalism's Troubled Search for Equality is the most sophisticated analysis I have read that gives a social and philosophical context to the Oregon debate on assisted death. Jones's meaningful discussion of moral values in liberal political philosophy incorporates strong scholarship and an impressive use of interviews and ethnography." --Courtney S. Campbell, Oregon State University

"A fresh, challenging, and timely approach to the political intersections of religion and progressive politics. Cutting through the headlines on the contentious physician assisted suicide issue, Jones's intellectually rigorous focus on equality and justice as the key to shaping an authentic liberal response will have great appeal across political and religious lines. His approach offers precisely the right prescription for a stronger progressive movement." --Rabbi David Saperstein, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert P. Jones is director and senior fellow at the Center for American Values in Public Life, People for the American Way Foundation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; 1 edition (February 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026803267X
• ISBN-13: 978-0268032678
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,466,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Right to Die

More About the Author

Dr. Robert P. Jones is the founding CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization specializing in work at the intersection of religion, values, and public life. He is the author two academic books and numerous peer-review articles on religion and public policy.

Dr. Jones is one of six members of the national steering committee for the Religion and Politics Section at the American Academy of Religion and serves on the editorial board for the journal "Religion and Politics," a journal of the American Political Science Association. He is also an active member of the Society of Christian Ethics and the American Association of Public Opinion Research. Before founding PRRI, Dr. Jones worked as a senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, DC, and was assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University. Dr. Jones's work is frequently featured in major national media, including ABC News, NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," Newsweek, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Nation, and others.

A native of the South, Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University with a specialization in social ethics and politics. He also holds an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.A. from Mississippi College.