Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility

by Martha Nussbaum

Justice for Animals is a very clearly written and persuasive call to action on behalf of non-human animals by American philosopher Martha Nussbaum. After outlining the harm we’re doing by using five specific examples (a mother elephant, a humpback whale, a fictional pig, a finch and a stray dog), she writes: “The extent of our own implication in practices that harm animals should make every person with a conscience consider what we can all do to change this situation. Pinning guilt is less important than accepting the fact that humanity as a whole has a collective duty to face and solve these problems.” The impetus behind writing the book is also very affecting: it’s because of her daughter, who was a passionate advocate for animals and died young. In the book, Nussbaum takes a ‘capabilities approach’ to develop a new theoretical basis for thinking about justice and injustice to animals as she feels “the dominant theories in this area are defective and that mine will direct action better.”