David A. Hoekema

Rights and wrongs : coercion, punishment and the state

Brings the themes of much contemporary work in political philosophy to bear on concrete questions of social policy. The author concludes by arguing that his theory of rights and coercion requires us to adopt a fundamentally retributive theory of punishment.

One True Theory and the Quest for an American Aesthetic (review)

2000 will help the reader understand why 1970s and 1980s blather that shuttles could be operated like airplanes was bogus from the start, even if designers did not know it (373). Overall, the “tension between invention and use, between design and operation, which lies at the heart” of LiPartito and Butler’s book helps to show just how different NASA centers are. The authors well conclude: “Some of the conflict that divides the agency is political (who gets what); some is historical (where you came from, who taught you)” (404). Lake Erie College Kim McQuaid

There Are No Just Wars: David Rodin and Oliver O’Donovan’s Divergent Critiques of a Tradition

Abstract Two recent monographs re-examine the central elements of the just war tradition and its contemporary applications. David Rodin’s War and Self-Defense analyzes, and rejects, the common doctrine that just war is an instance of national self-defense, in parallel with the right of individuals to protect themselves against violent attack. This derivation fails, and it cannot justify resort to war. In contrast, Oliver O’Donovan’s The Just War Revisited dismisses the notion that there are rules for just war and calls instead for careful and deliberate practical reasoning in particular contexts. Indeed, there can be no just wars, only specific acts that pass the tests of theological, historical, and practical scrutiny.

When technology undermines freedom

Abstract A conference entitled ‘The impact of new technologies on civil liberties’ took place on 17–18 May 1990 in Wilmington, DE, USA. It raised some unsettling questions about developments in medicine, computers and law enforcement. This report presents the main issues raised and the debates to which they gave rise.