Based on the John Locke Lectures which Thomas Nagel delivered at Oxford in 1990, this book addresses a fundamental problem in moral and political theory: the conflict between the claims of the group and those of the individual.

`combines a resolute psychological realism with a deep respect for the force of the claims which the reality of other people can and should make within every one of us.' John Dunn, Times Higher Education Supplement

"There is much in this short and illuminating book to stimulate serious thought about a wide range of issues in contemporary political theory. Nagel's style is deceptively simple, masking an unusual depth and complexity of view....For those who have read widely in the recent literature of political philosophy, it is a rare treat."--American Political Science Review "A clear, sometimes subtle and elegant book."--Society "Thomas Nagel is just about the most interesting philosopher of our day. Without descending to rhetorical tricks, he conveys a wonderful sense of the urgency of the issues he writes about....[Nagel's] deftness of touch and delicacy of intellectual imagination are exactly what the subject demands."--Times Literary Supplement "[Nagel] is focused on the right issues, and his discussion of them is both lucid and illuminating. The book is certainly required reading for those working in the area of political philosophy."--The Review of Politics "On all these subjects [Nagel discusses] we get tough-minded, honest, insightful, imaginative thought expressed in lucid prose, fully accessible to the nonprofessional, and clearly relevant to the most important political issues of our time. In a more rational world this book would have the best-seller status that Allen Bloom's had."--Philosophical Review "There is much in this short and illuminating book to stimulate serious thought about a wide range of issues in contemporary political theory. Nagel's style is deceptively simple, masking an unusual depth and complexity of view....For those who have read widely in the recent literature of political philosophy, it is a rare treat."--American Political Science Review "A clear, sometimes subtle and elegant book."--Society "Thomas Nagel is just about the most interesting philosopher of our day. Without descending to rhetorical tricks, he conveys a wonderful sense of the urgency of the issues he writes about....[Nagel's] deftness of touch and delicacy of intellectual imagination are exactly what the subject demands."--Times Literary Supplement "[Nagel] is focused on the right issues, and his discussion of them is both lucid and illuminating. The book is certainly required reading for those working in the area of political philosophy."--The Review of Politics "On all these subjects [Nagel discusses] we get tough-minded, honest, insightful, imaginative thought expressed in lucid prose, fully accessible to the nonprofessional, and clearly relevant to the most important political issues of our time. In a more rational world this book would have the best-seller status that Allen Bloom's had."--Philosophical Review "This is a rich and fascinating book whose meditations are at once personal and philosophical, admirably honest in the way they grapple with extraordinarily difficult problems, and despite their complications and obscurities, never stagnant and often compelling. Even for those who do not accept the Pauline moral psychology that structures the book's argument, there is much to learn from its twists and turns."--Ethics