The Needs of Strangers

Reissue of a profound exploration of the concept of human need by the esteemed author of On ConsolationWhat does a person need, not just to survive, but to flourish? In this profound, searching book, Michael Ignatieff explores the many human needs that go beyond basic sustenance: for love, for respect, for community and consolation. In a society of strangers, how might we find a common language to express such needs?Ignatieff's lucid, penetrating enquiry takes him back to great works of philosophy, literature and art, from St. Augustine to Hieronymus Bosch to Shakespeare.

Reissued with a new preface, The Needs of Strangers builds to a moving meditation on the possibility of accommodating claims of difference within a politics based on common need.