These essays articulate a distinctive conception of feminism, one rooted in the liberal tradition of political thought but responsive to radical feminist critiques of this tradition. They chart a feminism that is deeply concerned with global justice and with the needs of women who live in hunger.

Hard-hitting, in Nussbaum's characteristic take-no-prisoners style, setting out a clear case that women endure ignominious oppression in the name of culture and religion, and that feminists and liberals alike should tolerate it no longer ... well written and an easy read ... this is a good book for those who want an introduction to, or survey of, Nussbaum's recent thinking on popular issues.

"Nussbaum is a voice of good sense and goodwill, and a reminder, for those who need it, that sex is the scene of some of the worst injustices in the world."--Thomas Nagel, The New Republic "An admirably objective and insightful work on gender inequality....With its remarkable scholarship and comprehensive research, this work is both the ultimate primer on, and a major advance in, feminist thought."--Publishers Weekly "A stunning defense of justice....A brilliant book."--Kirkus Reviews "Essential for women's studies collections."--Library Journal "Animated by an acute moral sensibility, at once level-headed and erudite, open and committed, literate and concrete, Sex and Social Justice gives us this philosopher for our time at her engaged luminous scintillating best."--Catharine A. MacKinnon, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School "Nussbaum is a voice of good sense and goodwill, and a reminder, for those who need it, that sex is the scene of some of the worst injustices in the world."--Thomas Nagel, The New Republic "An admirably objective and insightful work on gender inequality....With its remarkable scholarship and comprehensive research, this work is both the ultimate primer on, and a major advance in, feminist thought."--Publishers Weekly "A stunning defense of justice....A brilliant book."--Kirkus Reviews "Essential for women's studies collections."--Library Journal "Animated by an acute moral sensibility, at once level-headed and erudite, open and committed, literate and concrete, Sex and Social Justice gives us this philosopher for our time at her engaged luminous scintillating best."--Catharine A. MacKinnon, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School "The publication of Sex and Social Justice is a major intellectual event for anyone concerned with justice for women and for those discriminated against because of sexual orientation. Often addressing these issues on a global scale, Martha Nussbaum presents here a valuable collection of explicitly feminist papers that have mostly been previously published but have since been extensively revised. Carefully researched and often revealing brilliant insights, these essays by one of our major public intellectuals should be widely read and influential."--Susan Moller Okin, Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society and Professor of Political Science, Stanford University "In Sex and Social Justice, Martha Nussbaum envisions a world unimaginably different from our own--a world in which all the world's people, men and women, live in mutual respect and common dignity; a world in which sex is not an occasion for abuse and humiliation; a world in which prudes are recognized as the true perverts. A liberal, a feminist, and an internationalist, Nussbaum is, above all, a remarkable humanist, with a capacious intellect and a generous sensibility. Her lucid and powerful essays provoke the mind, touch the heart, and reveal possibilities for constructive political remedy."--Joshua Cohen, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, MIT; editor, Boston Review "Sex and Social Justice contains a good deal of wisdom and sensitivity. Few writers can match the extent of Nussbaum's philosophical, legal, and factual knowledge, and her skill in bringing this knowledge to analysis of pressing contemporary moral problems."--Ethics "Professor Nussbaum's new collection of essays is most welcome. She writes in the best tradition of the public intellectual: the work is at once temperate and passionate, scholarly and imaginative, and the topics she treats have both practical and intellectual importance. Nussbaum is creating a new liberalism, one enriched and enlarged by her careful attention to liberalisms own critics."--Louise M. Antony, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill