Law

Blame and Christianity

Blame began with the triumph of Christianity.

Blame Corrupts Criminal Justice System

We are not morally required to blame wrongdoers.

Blame Necessary for Law

That we are all perfectly innocent is a radical claim.

Blame Derives from Conflicting Ideologies

Blaming holds people responsible for violating rules we have made collectively.

Blame Motivates Good Behavior

The thought of being blamed by others can motivate good behavior.

Beyond Blame

The philosophy of personal responsibility has ruined criminal justice and economic policy. It’s time to move past blame.

The Rise of Narendra Modi

A new biography tells the story of his rise to political prominence.

The Secret History of the Haitian Earthquake

A Conversation with Jonathan M. Katz

The Constitution Without the Court

Protecting Americans' Rights Is Not a Job for the Judiciary Alone

Our Collaboration with the Stanford Ethics Center

The Bowen H. McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford University has partnered with Boston Review to share content from its fellows and guest lecturers.

War Without Strategy

The United States relies on drones to make up for its lack of coherent policy in the war on terrorism.

Who Says the NSA’s Metadata Collection Is Legal?

On the limitations of secret judicial review.

Turkey’s Non-Crisis

The streets of Istanbul are alive with democratic politics—not dramatic upheaval.

A Costly Defense

Sequestration won’t gut the military

Bloody Abroad

Amanda Knox finds herself.

The Promise and Limits of Private Power

Richard M. Locke at the Watson Institute

What Are Foundations For?

Philanthropic institutions are plutocratic by nature. Can they be justified in a democracy?

Justice Postponed in Guatemala

Ríos Montt—and the United States—evade reckoning with the past.

Rethinking the War on Terror

President Obama’s speech on counterterrorism strategy fell short on substance.

Exhuming Neruda

How did Chile’s great poet die?

Founding Firearms

Originalism and the Second Amendment

Can Global Brands Create Just Supply Chains?

Private efforts to improve global working conditions have failed.

Martial Flaw

Why Tsarnaev is not an enemy combatant.

Lives of the Moral Saints

An Interview with Larissa MacFarquhar

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