In this book Taylor brings together some of his best essays, including "Overcoming Epistemology," "The Validity of Transcendental Argument," "Irreducibly Social ...

In an era in which socialism has been widely discredited, the moral and legal status of private property is crucial, and property theory has become one of the most active and exciting battlegrounds of contemporary political and social thought. In this important contribution to the theory of property, Carol Rose sympathetically examines the two currently dominant traditions--neoconservative utilitarianism and liberal communitarianism--acknowledging the strengths of each and laying the groundwork for a theory to bridge the gap between them.By insisting that community (...) norms must underlie any property regime, she expands the horizons of property theory, exploring the role of narrative and storytelling in the establishment of these norms. The result is a study that credits the insights of rival views and breaks new ground both substantively in its implications for understanding property and methodologically in its application of the study of narrative to property law. Property and Persuasion is a valuable contribution to legal theory as well as to political and social philosophy, and it is essential reading for students and professionals in all these fields. (shrink)

Some see health care as primarily an individual responsibility. Others see it as a public responsibility. Behind these approaches are strong conflicting beliefs about ethical matters, specifically about the kind of good that health care is. On the one side the underlying belief is that health care is no more than an individual good and hence calls for a distributive policy based on the market. On the other side the underlying belief is that it is a public good and hence (...) calls for a distributive policy based on widespread agreement.' There will be intermediate approaches which try with varying success to justify themselves by piecing together beliefs from both sides. I shall explain what is involved in calling something a public good. Then I shall try to show that, if health care is to satisfy some rather plausible criteria, it must have the character of a public good. (shrink)