Civil liberties in conflict /

Forewords by Justice William J. Brennan and Lord Scarman OBE set the comparative tone for this cross-Atlantic study of civil liberties. Gostin (Harvard University) has collected essays from American and British scholars to illustrate how even those committed to defending civil liberties can differ when choosing between conflicting rights. When the collective threatens the individual (e.g., trade unions versus strikebreakers, affirmative action) or when free expression clashes with group or national interests (e.g., pornography, racism, national security), only one side can prevail. The contrast between the two democracies in dealing with these clashes is most sharply drawn in the two essays that deal with the Skokie case. One defends the American Civil Liberties Union's decision to support the Nazis' right to march; the other articulates the National Council for Civil Liberties' position of refusing to advise such an "aggressor" group. The 11 essays are not merely pro/con, or American/British. Instead, they transversely explore the landscape of the issues to expose underlying principles, clashing values, and, hence, the points at which choices must be made and divergences created. An excellent collection for graduate students and faculty. S. Behuniak-Long Le Moyne College