The concept of status is both central to contemporary moral and political life and radically under theorized. In this important new book, George Letsas shows its deep roots in Western legal and political culture and makes a compelling case for making its place explicit in contemporary thought. His positive account of status will be the starting point for all future discussions of this important topic. * Arthur Ripstein, University of Toronto * Status in Law and Morality is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of, well, status in law and morality. From the careful distinction between rank-status and role-status (alongside the interesting claims about the relations between the two), to the provocative claim that the function of current norms surrounding status is actually to guard equality and protect the weak, through historical claims about the development of status, and all the way to a general discussion of role morality, Letsas's arguments and insights are rich and important, and they are plausible even when highly surprising. * David Enoch, University of Oxford * This absorbing study of the idea of status offers a compelling challenge to the standard picture. Distinguishing between rank-status and role-status, George Letsas rejects both the idea that legal status was traditionally attached to rank or social status and also Maine's idea that legal development has consisted in the transition from status to contract. He argues instead that role-status is the critical legal and moral concept, which recognises the power imbalance implicit in certain kinds of enduring relationship and justifies the attribution of pertinent rights and duties. The book is a very fine contribution to legal and moral philosophy, obliging us urgently to reexamine some of our existing ideas and assumptions. * Trevor Allan, University of Cambridge *
