Identity in Democracy. By Amy Gutmann. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. 264p. $35.00 cloth, $ 17.95 paper.

What ought to be the role of identity groups in the politics of a just democratic society? In her book, Amy Gutmann sets out to explore this question. She does not offer a definitive answer to it; however, she does offer evaluative criteria by which we may decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not the political interventions of organized identity groups are beneficial to a democratic society such as she presumes the United States to be. When, Gutmann asks (p. 5), may the politics of organized identity groups contribute to a society structured on what she identifies as the three basic principles of democratic justice: civic equality (equal standing as a citizen), liberty, and opportunity? Conversely, when are they inimical to such principles?