Seeking a way out of today's bewildering rush of rights claims, Tara Smith's Moral Rights and Political Freedom offers a systematic account of the nature and foundations of rights. The book carefully elucidates what political freedom is and demonstrates why it should be protected by rights. Smith's thesis is that rights are teleological: respect for freedom is necessary for individuals' flourishing or eudaimonia. Smith illustrates how many alleged rights would actually undermine that objective. Her decisive refutation of the assumption that conflicts between rights are inevitable--demonstrating how such conflicts are theoretically incoherent and practically self-defeating--should go a long way toward resolving many contemporary disputes about rights.

Tara Smith is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Texas in Austin.