Rights, Democracy, and Fulfillment in the Era of Identity Politics: Principled Compromises in a Compromised World. By David Ingram. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2004. 280p. $70.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.

David Ingram situates his work within the tradition of critical social theory and traces its normative impulse to the young Marx's aspiration for human fulfillment. However, in order to avoid the trap of utopianism, he adopts a pragmatic attitude and highlights the importance of compromises. At the same time, by remaining cognizant of the price paid for normative compromises, he is able to maintain his pragmatic attitude without losing sight of the aspiration for human fulfillment and perfectibility that inspires his work.