Overview

Robert L. Tsai offers a stirring account of how legal ideas that aren't necessarily about equality have often been used to overcome resistance to justice and remain vital today. From the oppression of emancipated slaves after the Civil War, to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, to President Trump's ban on Muslim travelers, Tsai applies lessons from past struggles to pressing contemporary issues.

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Reviews

Recognizing that the efforts to achieve full equality in an imperfect and often deeply flawed society are invariably met with severe resistance, Robert Tsai urges that those striving for equality must be strategic, determined, resilient, and often patient in order to achieve their goals. The struggle is worth it, but as history teaches, the battle cannot be won in a day. Tsai offers important lesson from history about how to move forward. -- Geoffrey Stone, author of Sex and the Constitution How do you fight for social change during periods of reaction or when structures of injustice are deeply entrenched? Robert Tsai's Practical Equality beautifully wrestles with this dilemma and with the everyday political challenge of defending the principle of equality under less than ideal circumstances. Through examples drawn from history and from the present, Tsai creatively highlights how embedded legal tools-which we do not necessarily associate with the fight for equality-can actually help to resist oppression. The result is a work of striking political and legal imagination, an essential book with critical insights for activists, scholars, and lawyers. -- Aziz Rana, author of The Two Faces of American Freedom Egalitarians take notice! Our interpretations of the Constitution's guarantee of equality are losing ground on every front. Robert Tsai urges us to pursue equality by other means. Rather than suffer yet more sweeping defeats by fighting on this most contentious ground, says Tsai, try for modest victories by building claims around other norms like procedural fairness. Tsai develops his argument via a great array of well-told historical and contemporary cases, and he is deeply alive to the perils as well as the promise of his proposal. -- William E. Forbath, co-author of The Anti-Oligarchy In this at once provocative and sensible book, Robert Tsai shows us that in the never-ending struggle for equality, progress is sometimes more effectively achieved indirectly. The rights to free speech, due process, and privacy, he argues, offer a way forward when more direct claims to equality would fail. -- David Cole, National Legal Director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty Despite raging controversies, it still remains possible for the Supreme Court to bring Americans together rather than drive them further apart. Robert Tsai brilliantly describes great Court decisions of the past which engaged in such bridge-building exercises, setting precedents for future Justices to follow if they hope to sustain broad public support. -- Bruce Ackerman, author of We the People

Recognizing that the efforts to achieve full equality in an imperfect and often deeply flawed society are invariably met with severe resistance, Robert Tsai urges that those striving for equality must be strategic, determined, resilient, and often patient in order to achieve their goals. The struggle is worth it, but as history teaches, the battle cannot be won in a day. Tsai offers important lessons from history about how to move forward. -- Geoffrey Stone, author of Sex and the Constitution How do you fight for social change during periods of reaction or when structures of injustice are deeply entrenched? Robert Tsai's Practical Equality beautifully wrestles with this dilemma and with the everyday political challenge of defending the principle of equality under less than ideal circumstances. The result is a work of striking political and legal imagination, an essential book with critical insights for activists, scholars, and lawyers. -- Aziz Rana, author of The Two Faces of American Freedom Egalitarians take notice! Our interpretations of the Constitution's guarantee of equality are losing ground on every front. Robert Tsai develops his argument via a great array of well-told historical and contemporary cases, and he is deeply alive to the perils as well as the promise of his proposal. -- William E. Forbath, coauthor of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution In this at once provocative and sensible book, Robert Tsai shows us that in the never-ending struggle for equality, progress is sometimes more effectively achieved indirectly. -- David Cole, National Legal Director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty Despite raging controversies, it still remains possible for the Supreme Court to bring Americans together rather than drive them further apart. Robert Tsai brilliantly describes great Court decisions of the past which engaged in such bridge-building exercises, setting precedents for future Justices to follow if they hope to sustain broad public support. -- Bruce Ackerman, author of We the People

A timely review of America's pursuit of equality and pragmatic solutions to better achieve it. -- Kirkus Reviews Tsai writes with a passion about the moral necessity of eliminating the damage inequality does. This framework will resonate with readers interested in equality and advocacy. -- Publishers Weekly Tsai's clear writing and questioning approach make this ultimately both accessible and engaging...Deeply thought-provoking as the topic of egalitarianism remains highly contested in today's political discourse. -- Booklist Despite raging controversies, it still remains possible for the Supreme Court to bring Americans together rather than drive them further apart. Robert Tsai brilliantly describes great Court decisions of the past which engaged in such bridge-building exercises, setting precedents for future Justices to follow if they hope to sustain broad public support. -- Bruce Ackerman, author of We the People In this at once provocative and sensible book, Robert Tsai shows us that in the never-ending struggle for equality, progress is sometimes more effectively achieved indirectly. -- David Cole, National Legal Director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty Egalitarians take notice! Our interpretations of the Constitution's guarantee of equality are losing ground on every front. Robert Tsai develops his argument via a great array of well-told historical and contemporary cases, and he is deeply alive to the perils as well as the promise of his proposal. -- William E. Forbath, coauthor of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution How do you fight for social change during periods of reaction or when structures of injustice are deeply entrenched? Robert Tsai's Practical Equality beautifully wrestles with this dilemma and with the everyday political challenge of defending the principle of equality under less than ideal circumstances. The result is a work of striking political and legal imagination, an essential book with critical insights for activists, scholars, and lawyers. -- Aziz Rana, author of The Two Faces of American Freedom Recognizing that the efforts to achieve full equality in an imperfect and often deeply flawed society are invariably met with severe resistance, Robert Tsai urges that those striving for equality must be strategic, determined, resilient, and often patient in order to achieve their goals. The struggle is worth it, but as history teaches, the battle cannot be won in a day. Tsai offers important lessons from history about how to move forward. -- Geoffrey Stone, author of Sex and the Constitution

Recognizing that the efforts to achieve full equality in an imperfect and often deeply flawed society are invariably met with severe resistance, Robert Tsai urges that those striving for equality must be strategic, determined, resilient, and often patient in order to achieve their goals. The struggle is worth it, but as history teaches, the battle cannot be won in a day. Tsai offers important lessons from history about how to move forward. -- Geoffrey Stone, author of Sex and the Constitution How do you fight for social change during periods of reaction or when structures of injustice are deeply entrenched? Robert Tsai's Practical Equality beautifully wrestles with this dilemma and with the everyday political challenge of defending the principle of equality under less than ideal circumstances. The result is a work of striking political and legal imagination, an essential book with critical insights for activists, scholars, and lawyers. -- Aziz Rana, author of The Two Faces of American Freedom Egalitarians take notice! Our interpretations of the Constitution's guarantee of equality are losing ground on every front. Robert Tsai develops his argument via a great array of well-told historical and contemporary cases, and he is deeply alive to the perils as well as the promise of his proposal. -- William E. Forbath, coauthor of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution In this at once provocative and sensible book, Robert Tsai shows us that in the never-ending struggle for equality, progress is sometimes more effectively achieved indirectly. -- David Cole, National Legal Director, ACLU, and author of Engines of Liberty Despite raging controversies, it still remains possible for the Supreme Court to bring Americans together rather than drive them further apart. Robert Tsai brilliantly describes great Court decisions of the past which engaged in such bridge-building exercises, setting precedents for future Justices to follow if they hope to sustain broad public support. -- Bruce Ackerman, author of We the People Tsai's clear writing and questioning approach make this ultimately both accessible and engaging...Deeply thought-provoking as the topic of egalitarianism remains highly contested in today's political discourse. -- Booklist A timely review of America's pursuit of equality and pragmatic solutions to better achieve it. -- Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Robert L. Tsai is Professor of Law and Law Alumni Scholar at Boston University. He is the author, most recently, of Practical Equality, and his essays have appeared in the New York Review of Books, Politico, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Slate. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.

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