Additional information
by James Q. Wilson (Author)
This compelling and thought-provoking essay collection tackles the urgent debate over character, virtue, and moral responsibility in American life, where renowned political scientist James Q. Wilson draws on decades of experience advising presidents on crime, drug abuse, and education to argue that empathy and self-control are the twin pillars of good character, exploring how these traits shape families, communities, schools, and public policy, and ultimately making the case for an inborn human moral sense that obligates us to one another in the pursuit of a just and orderly society.
Back Jacket
'It is difficult to imagine any subject more crucial to the analysis of social affairs today than that of character. And it is impossible to imagine any book more enlightening on this subject than this collection of essays by one of our most distinguished social thinkers. Ranging from private virtues through public policies, from education through crime, from the 1940s through the 1990s, James Q. Wilson provides original and provocative commentaries on our most urgent problems.' - Gertrude Himmelfarb, Author, The De-Moralization of Society: From Victory Virtues to Modern Values
Author Biography
James Q. Wilson is a professor of management at the University of California at Los Angeles.
