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The issue of public morality, so often at the center of heated debates about pornography, narcotics, public indecency, violent entertainment, "family values," et cetera, is at once a continuing reality and a persistent dilemma in our liberal society. With Public Morality and Liberal Society, Harry M. Clor makes an important contribution to this perennial and intensely debated theme by considering how public morality can be justified in theory and accommodated in practice within a liberal society.
Clor develops his argument in five parts. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the various controversies and ambiguities about public morality in American life and public opinion. In Chapter 2 Clor presents the case for a public standard of morality and defends it against the most persistent objections. Chapter 3 covers some of the themes prominent in recent treatments of the subject of public morality, and Chapter 4 critically analyzes the two theoretically dominant liberal orientations of recent decades, the libertarian and egalitarian views. In Chapter 5 Clor compares the traditional ethical indictment of pornography with the current feminist indictment.
“One seldom sees a thoughtful, well-reasoned argument for serious public morality today—by serious I mean backed by the sanction of law—especially one meant to appeal both to believers and unbelievers. This is such a book. With it, Harry M. Clor has shed light on the most confusing issue of our age: the place of public morality in liberal society.” —Crisis
“Clor's moderation . . . supports his extremism and vice versa. This weaving together of moderation and extremism or radicalism gives Clor's thought a comprehensiveness and just articulation missing in liberalism, modern and postmodern. Clor shows how the path of public policy can lead to the mansion of political philosophy.” —Interpretation
"[Clor's] essays are sure to stimulate reflection about the civic importance of moral character." —National Catholic Reporter
"He brings such philosophic depth and practical good sense to our ongoing public discussion of 'value' issues that one can only hope that some of the shrill voices out there will read and be educated by Clor." —Michael Zuckert, author of The Natural Rights Republic (Notre Dame Press, 1997).
Harry M. Clor is Professor of Political Science at Kenyon College. He is the author of Obscenity and Public Morality: Censorship in a Liberal Society (1969) and many articles and essays in political science.