Overview

How dignity transforms, and resolves, some of the country's most pressing social problems. Dignity represents the inherent and equal worth of each one of us. It is how we think about the value of our lives. It is how we think about justice, and about the injustices that cause people to struggle and suffer. In Dignity in America, Erin Daly explores how we can resolve the social conflicts that divide us as a nation by transforming them under the lens of human dignity. It may apply differently in different cultural settings, but the core meaning of dignity is both intuitive and universal. It stands for a set of interlocking ideas that focus on each person's need to freely develop their full personality and identity. Using the language of dignity that has already taken root in international law and courts all around the world, Daly shows us how to think about controversies, ranging from affirmative action to abortion to climate justice to democracy, with a view toward enhancing our ability to live with dignity. Daly presents dignity as a universal value that transcends partisan debates and, in many cases, presents a clear path to the most just solutions to the conflicts that divide us as a nation. She introduces the American voting public to the idea of dignity by posing and wrestling with a series of questions: How can we insist on a politics that really protects human dignity? How can we use the idea of dignity to guide us toward solutions that allow more people to live each day with more of it? If we pay attention to the core needs of people in society, we can make political choices that better protect us all, allowing us to flourish as individuals while living in communities based on justice for all.

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9781503642171

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Reviews

""This is a stimulating, well written and easy-to-read introduction to the increasingly debated issue of what, if anything, the concepts of 'dignity' and 'human dignity' can contribute to the resolution of contested social issues in the United States, and particularly in the legal and constitutional contexts. I know of no equivalent book – it is a significant contribution.""—Christopher McCrudden, University of Michigan ""Erin Daly has done a beautiful job championing the truth that all of humanity deserves to be treated with dignity, especially as the foundation of the rule of law. This hopeful book comes to us when our democracy is on the line fueled by our deep partisan divide. Because of it, dignity is in great peril. Ensuring that everyone deserves to be treated as something of value, enables us to live in a world where justice for all is finally achieved. The health and state of our democracy depends on it.""—Donna Hicks, Harvard University ""This is essential reading for anyone concerned about freedom in America. Daly provocatively claims that only through the protection of human dignity can we realize freedom. Whether in decisions on reproductive rights, hate speech, solitary confinement, poverty pay wages or flooded homes from climate change she finds courts around the world that have rejected violations of dignity. With clear and compelling language she makes plain that without the legal protection of dignity there is no freedom. Read this to see the dignity and therefore freedom deficit in our nation.""—Art Haywood, Pennsylvania State Senate

""This is a stimulating, well written and easy-to-read introduction to the increasingly debated issue of what, if anything, the concepts of 'dignity' and 'human dignity' can contribute to the resolution of contested social issues in the United States, and particularly in the legal and constitutional contexts. I know of no equivalent book – it is a significant contribution."" —Christopher McCrudden, University of Michigan ""Erin Daly has done a beautiful job championing the truth that all of humanity deserves to be treated with dignity, especially as the foundation of the rule of law. This hopeful book comes to us when our democracy is on the line fueled by our deep partisan divide. Because of it, dignity is in great peril. Ensuring that everyone deserves to be treated as something of value, enables us to live in a world where justice for all is finally achieved. The health and state of our democracy depends on it."" —Donna Hicks, Harvard University ""This is essential reading for anyone concerned about freedom in America. Daly provocatively claims that only through the protection of human dignity can we realize freedom. Whether in decisions on reproductive rights, hate speech, solitary confinement, poverty pay wages or flooded homes from climate change she finds courts around the world that have rejected violations of dignity. With clear and compelling language she makes plain that without the legal protection of dignity there is no freedom. Read this to see the dignity and therefore freedom deficit in our nation."" —Art Haywood, Pennsylvania State Senate

Author Information

Erin Daly is Executive Director of Dignity Now!, a non-profit organization dedicated to dignity and human rights education, advocacy and reform in the US and globally. She is Professor Emerita of Law at Widener University Delaware Law School and has taught dignity rights throughout the world.

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