Culture of Vengeance and the Fate of American Justice

America is driven by vengeance in Terry Aladjem''s provocative account – a reactive, public anger that is a threat to democratic justice itself. From the return of the death penalty to the wars on terror and in Iraq, Americans demand retribution and moral certainty; they assert the ''rights of victims'' and make pronouncements against ''evil''. Yet for Aladjem this dangerously authoritarian turn h...