Theories of social justice are necessarily abstract, reaching beyond the particular and the immediate to the general and the timeless. Yet such theories, addressing the world and its problems, must respond to the real and changing dilemmas of the day. A brilliant work of practical philosophy, "Frontiers of Justice" is dedicated to this proposition. Taking up three urgent problems of social justice neglected by current theories and thus harder to tackle in practical terms and everyday life, Martha Nussbaum seeks a theory of social justice that can guide us to a richer, more responsive approach to social cooperation. The idea of the social contract--especially as developed in the work of John Rawls--is one of the most powerful approaches to social justice in the Western tradition. But as Nussbaum demonstrates, even Rawls's theory, suggesting a contract for mutual advantage among approximate equals, cannot address questions of social justice posed by unequal parties. How, for instance, can we extend the equal rights of citizenship--education, health care, political rights and liberties--to those with physical and mental disabilities? How can we extend justice and dignified life conditions to all citizens of the world? And how, finally, can we bring our treatment of nonhuman animals into our notions of social justice? Exploring the limitations of the social contract in these three areas, Nussbaum devises an alternative theory based on the idea of "capabilities." She helps us to think more clearly about the purposes of political cooperation and the nature of political principles--and to look to a future of greater justice for all.

瑪莎•C•納斯鮑姆（Martha C Nussbaum），美國哲學傢，人文與科學院院士，當前美國最傑齣、最活躍的公共知識分子之一。現為芝加哥大學法學、倫理學佛羅因德（Ernst Freund）傑齣貢獻教授，同時受聘於該校7個院（係）。2003年榮列英國《新政治傢》雜誌評齣的“我們時代的十二位偉大思想傢”之一；2012年獲西班牙阿斯圖裏亞斯王子奬，被稱為“當代哲學界最具創新力和最有影響力的聲音之一”；她已經齣版的17部專著涉及古典學、政治哲學、法學、博雅教育、女性與人類發展等眾多領域，最具代錶性的著作有：《善的脆弱性》、《詩性正義》 。