Jeffrie G. Murphy's second collection of essays further pursues the topics of punishment and retribution that were explored in his 1979 collection Retribution, Justice and Therapy.
Murphy now explores these topics in the context of political philosophy as well as moral philosophy, and he now begins to develop some doubts about the version of the retributive theory with which his name has long been associated.

Preface. Why have Criminal Law at All? Retributivism, Moral Education, and the Liberal State. Does Kant have a Theory of Punishment? Getting Even: The Role of the Victim. The Justice of Economics. Blackmail: A Preliminary Inquiry. Consent, Coercion and Hard Choices. Rationality and Constraints on Democratic Rule. Constitutionalism, Moral Skepticism, and Religious Belief. Kantian Autonomy and Divine Commands. War, Self-Defense, and Defense of Others. The Will to Deviance. Injustice and Misfortune. Index of Names.