Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

by Robert P. George (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"George is an accomplished controversialist; his arguments are always clear, sophisticated, and highly interesting. Making Men Moral deserves the attention of moral, political, and legal theorists."--Choice
"Making Men Moral is a strong defense of morals laws against arguments critical of traditional jurisprudence by contemporary liberal legal scholars."--Modern Age
"...contains much erudition and wisdom worthy of study and reflection."--Modern Age
"There is much to praise in George's book."--Ethics
"This book is clear, incisive, and well argued. I highly recommend it."The Review of Metaphysics


Product Description
Contemporary liberal thinkers commonly suppose that there is something in principle unjust about the legal prohibition of putatively victimless crimes. Here Robert P. George defends the traditional justification of morals legislation against criticisms advanced by leading liberal theorists. He argues that such legislation can play a legitimate role in maintaining a moral environment conducive to virtue and inhospitable to at least some forms of vice. Among the liberal critics of morals legislation whose views George considers are Ronald Dworkin, Jeremy Waldron, David A.J. Richards, and Joseph Raz. He also considers the influential modern justification for morals legislation offered by Patrick Devlin as an alternative to the traditional approach. George closes with a sketch of a "pluralistic perfectionist" theory of civil liberties and public morality, showing that it is fully compatible with a defense of morals legislation. Making Men Moral will interest legal scholars and political theorists as well as theologians and philosophers focusing on questions of social justice and political morality.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198260245
• ISBN-13: 978-0198260240
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A defense of perfectionism, December 9, 2000

By	M. Golkar (New York City) - See all my reviews

This book is a strong response to the widely held view that morality as such cannot be enforced by the law. According to Prof. George, society may legitimately seek to "make men moral" as long as the moral sentiment expressed is legitimate. The last qualification is important, because it does set a limit on how far the law may go in interfering with personal autonomy. Therefore, we can say that it is premised on a natural law foundation, which is foreign to most people today. Most of the arguments are made in the course of criticizing the opposing views of some heavyweight philosophers like Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, and Joseph Raz. Especially good is a chapter on the famous debate between H.L.A. Hart and Patrick Devlin. Though George's position is closer to that of Devlin, he does a good job explaining how Devlin's views are in many ways deficient and incompatible with a free society. This is a fine book no matter what your political views, though it does help to have a background in political and moral philosophy to fully grasp the arguments.

5 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Over-rated, April 25, 2006

By	Max Edison "Max Edison" (Denver) - See all my reviews

Mr. George spends a great deal of time and effort justifying meanness, cruelty, and bone-headed, stupifying insanity. He fears the different among us, those who do not conform to his tired, old-hat definitions of what is good and moral. Hatred is not a traditional value, Mr. George.