Morality and Public Policy

Anthologies in applied ethics have devoted substantial attention to practical issues of personal morality, such as abortion, euthanasia, and famine relief. Much less attention has been given to examining ethical problems of public policy, such as school vouchers, gun control, immigration, drug legalization, and same-sex marriage. And much of the important work that has been done on these topics is for the most part uncollected and relatively inaccessible.

This anthology breaks new ground in bringing together challenging essays which deal with these and other moral issues inherent in the policies of government. The focus of this new anthology is on a wide range of topics, all of which raise compelling ethical problems, and all of which are hotly contested in contemporary public discourse. The selected readings are current, many written by leading philosophers, and the authors provide helpful introductions to each of the readings.

This anthology explores a variety of positions on recent, controversial, social problems—all of which involve government policy.

The wide-range of contemporary issues includes allowing/encouraging immigration, use of school vouchers, government control over drugs and guns, same-sex marriages, government support of the arts, affirmative action, the death penalty, and the legitimacy of legally restricting the sale of pornography.

For anyone seeking to clarify their understanding and thinking about rights and wrongs in public affairs.

Steven M. Cahn is professor of philosophy at the City University of New York's Graduate School and is the author of more than 20 volumes in philosophy.

Tziporah Kasachkoff is professor of philosophy at the City University of New York's Borough of Manhattan Community College and the Graduate School. She is the editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Teaching Philosophy and is the author of numerous articles.