What do we owe one another as citizens? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Can dissent be patriotic? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? How can we balance individual rights and the common good? These questions are at the core of our public life today -- and at the heart of Justice, in which Michael Sandel shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us to make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well. Sandel's legendary "Justice" course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of politics today. In the fall of 2009, PBS will air a series based on the course.

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, where he has taught since 1980, and he is the author of many books. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.