Rights Gone Wrong: How Law Corrupts the Struggle for Equality

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book

Since the 1960s, ideas developed during the civil rights movement have been astonishingly successful in the fight against overt discrimination. But can they combat the whole spectrum of social injustice---including conditions that aren't directly caused by bigotry? In Rights Gone Wrong, Richard Thompson Ford argues that extremists on both sides of the political divide have hijacked civil rights for personal advantage, diverting our attention from serious social injustices. Is equality really served by endless litigating and legislating against every grievance or slight? Brilliantly argued, shrewd, and lively, Rights Gone Wrong offers "a crisp analysis of the limits of our civil rights laws and a prescription for how to move beyond them" (Kirkus Reviews).