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The Ordinary Virtues

Moral Order in a Divided World
3.85 goodreads logo

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( 143 ratings, 28 reviews)
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The Ordinary Virtues by Michael Ignatieff explores how moral principles operate in the everyday lives of people across various cultures and societies. Through his travels to cities like New York, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo, Ignatieff examines how individuals exercise virtues such as trust, forgiveness, and resilience amidst global challenges and diversity. The book offers a thought-provoking analysis of how these virtues shape our common humanity and foster social cohesion.
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If you're interested in exploring how fundamental human virtues manifest in everyday life around the world, this book offers a compelling examination. Michael Ignatieff delves into diverse global communities, revealing how ordinary virtues like tolerance, resilience, and trust flourish amid complex social and political scenarios. It's a thought-provoking read for anyone curious about the intersection of personal morality and global ethics.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Winner of the Zócalo Book Prize
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

"Combines powerful moral arguments with superb storytelling."
New Statesman

What moral values do we hold in common? As globalization draws us together economically, are the things we value converging or diverging? These twin questions led Michael Ignatieff to embark on a three-year, eight-nation journey in search of an answer. What we share, he found, are what he calls "ordinary virtues": tolerance, forgiveness, trust, and resilience. When conflicts break out, these virtues are easily exploited by the politics of fear and exclusion, reserved for one's own group but denied to others. Yet these ordinary virtues are the key to healing and reconciliation on both a local and global scale.

"Makes for illuminating reading."
—Simon Winchester, New York Review of Books

"Engaging, articulate and richly descriptive. Ignatieff's deft histories, vivid sketches and fascinating interviews are the soul of this important book."
Times Literary Supplement

"Deserves praise for wrestling with the devolution of our moral worlds over recent decades."
Los Angeles Review of Books

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Michael Ignatieff's The Ordinary Virtues receives acclaim for its engaging exploration of how virtues like tolerance, forgiveness, resilience, and trust underpin global communities, challenging the notion that human rights alone sustain them. His storytelling, combining moral arguments with vivid accounts and interviews from diverse locales, provides a nuanced view of the ongoing evolution of ethics in an interconnected world. Critics praise Ignatieff's ability to navigate complex moral dilemmas with clarity and insight, highlighting his book's significance in the fields of human rights and global ethics.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674237490

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 April 2019

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 290g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Michael Ignatieff is Rector and President of Central European University in Budapest and former Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.

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