While rights are indispensable to our moral and political thinking, they are also mysterious and controversial. What is it for someone to have a moral right to something? What kinds of creatures are capable of having rights? Which rights do they have? As long as these questions remain unanswered, rights will remain vulnerable to sceptical doubts. This book provides the moral foundation necessary to dispel these doubts. The author does this by constructing a coherent concept of a moral right and a workable substantive theory of rights. The former arises from his analysis of moral rights as morally justified conventional rights, while the necessary justificatory framework is supplied by a consequentialist moral theory.

L.W. Sumner is a university professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto.

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"original, interesting and closely argued book."

--Times Literary Supplement

"an exceedingly careful, detailed analysis of the set of concepts associated with rights. It is masterly, indeed virtuoso exposition ... amply rewarding... Sumner has done an impressive job of mapping out the terrain in the area of rights, and the subject will profit from his work."

--The University of Toronto Quarterly