Legal Pragmatism
Community, Rights, and Democracy

Michael Sullivan (Author)

9780253219060

Paperback / softback, published 14 June 2007

176 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1 cm, 0.272 kg

"[This book] represents an genuine breakthrough . . . . [It] will have a large influence on the course of jurisprudential reflection in the decades ahead."—Bruce Ackerman, Yale University
"Against the charge . . . that pragmatism fails to take rights seriously, Sullivan responds that pragmatism provides us with the best account of why we should take rights seriously."—Cheyney Ryan, University of Oregon

In Legal Pragmatism, Michael Sullivan looks closely at the place of the individual and community in democratic society. After mapping out a brief history of American legal thinking regarding rights, from communitarianism to liberalism, Sullivan gives a rich and nuanced account of how pragmatism worked to resolve conflicts of self-interest and community well-being. Sullivan's view of pragmatism provides a comprehensive framework for understanding democracy, as well as issues such as health care, education, gay marriage, and illegal immigration that will determine its character in the future. Legal Pragmatism is a bold, carefully argued book that presents a unique understanding of contemporary society, law, and politics.

Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. What's Right with Rights and Wrong with Communitarianism?
2. Taking Rights and Pragmatism Seriously
3. Posner's Unpragmatic Pragmatism
4. Toward a Reconstructive Pragmatism
5. Reconstructing Judicial Review
6. Pragmatism, Genealogy, and Democracy
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index