Personal Responsibility: Why it Matters (Think Now)

Personal Responsibility: Why it Matters (Think Now)

by Alexander Brown (Author)

Synopsis

Individual responsibility is an issue at the heart of public debates surrounding justice today - this book explores the philosophical implications of this hugely topical contemporary debate. Personal responsibility is now very much on the political agenda. But what is personal responsibility? Why do we care about it? And what, if anything, should governments do to promote it? This book explores the idea that individuals bear a special responsibility for the success or failure of their own lives looking at philosophical theories, political ideologies and public opinion on the subject. Alexander Brown lends support to a recent move in political philosophy to deal with real world problems and shows how philosophy can contribute to public democratic debate on pressing issues of personal responsibility. Articulate, provocative and stimulating, this timely book will make a significant contribution to one of the most important debates of our time. Think Now is a new series of books which examines central contemporary social and political issues from a philosophical perspective. These books aim to be accessible, rather than overly technical, bringing philosophical rigour to modern questions which matter the most to us. Provocative yet engaging, the authors take a stand on political and cultural themes of interest to any intelligent reader.

$25.48

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 30 Sep 2009

ISBN 10: 1847063993
ISBN 13: 9781847063991

Media Reviews

Brown explores the concept that individuals bear a responsibility for the success or failure of their own lives, why personal responsibility matters, how it relates to social policy, and the role of the government, considering philosophical theories, political ideologies in the UK and US, the thoughts of social policy experts, and public opinion on the topic in Britain and other European countries, then applying these ideas to contemporary issues of unemployment, health, drug abuse, and personal debt and financial rewards in Britain. He concludes with tools for settling issues of personal responsibility, like citizens' juries. -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.

Author Bio
Alexander Brown is a Teaching Fellow in Political Theory at the School of Public Policy, University College London, UK. He is the author of Ronald Dworkin's Theory of Equality (Forthcoming, Palgrave Macmillan).