Enforcing Morality

Discusses the nature and limits of the legal and social enforcement of moral norms.

Steven Wall (Author)

9781009363761, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 November 2023

242 pages
22.5 x 15 x 1.3 cm, 0.358 kg

What parts of morality ought the law to enforce? What considerations justify its enforcement? What is the relationship between the legal and social enforcement of morality? Are there principled moral limits that constrain the enforcement of morality? How should we think about the pragmatic limits to the effective enforcement of morality? These are some of the main questions addressed by Steven Wall in this comprehensive and provocative study of a fundamental debate in jurisprudence and political theory. The book defends the practice of ethical environmentalism: the deliberate effort to improve the ethical character of the social environment of a society by political, legal and other means. The presumptive case for ethical environmentalism is presented and then assessed in light of a range of important considerations, including fair treatment, governmental neutrality, the value of personal liberty, rights to do wrongs, and free expression.

1. Introduction
Part I. Background Controversies: 2. Mill's Principle
3. The Hart/Devlin Debate
4. Sovereignty and Consent
Part II. Critical Legal Moralism: 5. Ethical Environmentalism I
6. Ethical Environmentalism II
7. The Good of Personal Liberty
8. Rights to do Wrongs
9. Free Expression
10. Pragmatism and the Perils of Enforcement.

Subject Areas: Jurisprudence & general issues [LA]