The text begins with an introductory essay that provides an overview of the topics and a discussion of their relevance to social philosophy today. It then moves on to consider a broad range of social and political issues, including the nature of freedom, the limits of religious tolerance, group rights and ethnic identity, affirmative action, conceptions of parenting, the death penalty, privacy laws, world hunger, homosexuality, and abortion.

Ideal for university courses, this text offers a balanced range of opinion and perspective, probes the basic questions concerning the nature of a free and just society, and invites the reader to participate in the critical exchange of arguments.