[…] in a time of peril and opportunity, the old complacent, unbalanced fare of action-adventure and situation comedies is simply not good enough.

He manages to abstain from smoking for weeks at a time, but then gives in and starts again.

Without being in any way smug she was radiant with self-satisfaction and well-doing.

In the face of such phenomena, justice demands protection against bogus and thoughtless égalitarianism. The legal claim, conceding the particularity of every member of a political community, constitutes a bulwark against the pressures of public sentiment and the unpredictable vicissitudes of dominant opinion.