This book challenges the conventional approach to problems of injustice in global normative theory. It offers a radical alternative designed to transform our thinking about what kind of problem injustice is and to show how political theorists might do better in understanding and addressing it. Michael Goodhart argues that the dominant paradigm, ideal moral theory (IMT), takes a fundamentally wrong-headed approach to injustice. At the same time, leading alternatives to IMT struggle to make sense of the role values play in politics and abandon political theorys critical and prescriptive aspirations. Goodhart treats justice claims as ideological and develops an innovative bifocal theoretical framework for making sense of them. This framework reconciles realistic political analysis with substantive normative commitments, enabling theorists to come to grips with injustice as a political rather than a philosophical problem. The book describes the work that political theory and political theorists can do to combat injustice and illustrates its key arguments through a novel reconceptualization of responsibility for injustice.

About the Author
Michael Goodhart is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he holds secondary appointments in Philosophy and in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. Goodhart's research focuses on problems of global injustice, on the theory and practice of democracy and human rights in the context of globalization, and on related puzzles concerning international and transnational democratic governance and accountability. He is also interested in epistemology and in methodology in political theory.

Reviews
Any reflection about practice calls for its translation in another practice, not rarely challenging the practice reflected upon. This book will, therefore, appeal to more than just global normative theorists, but inspire all those who have a dynamic interest in the ethos of today's world. * Wilfried Vanhoutte, Philosophia: International Journal of Philosophy *
...Goodhart is clearly right on target in Injustice: Political Theory for the Real World when he argues in favor of a radical egalitarian practical agenda * James P. Sterba, University of Notre Dame, The Review of Politics *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190692438
Author Michael Goodhart
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 431g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 231mm * 18mm