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Should children vote in national elections? How much is the family worth? Is the end of class inequality in sight? Professor Ringen tackles these and other crucial questions in this engaging amd provocative new work on the future of reform democracy. The role of democratic government is necessarily limited: it cannot take action which trespasses on liberty. However democratic government is also condemned to action: it cannot choose to do nothing about persistent injustice. Is there a middle ground between the double imperative of liberty and equality? Professor Ringen argues that in the areas of family and welfare policy there is. Real democracies are necessarily imperfect. The author warns against `the terrible tempatation towards perfection' and argues for a notion of rationality governed by restrained self-interest, the civil spirit. The book brings together conservative values of family and personal responsibility with the idea of radical reform. This book is intended for scholars and students of social policy, sociology, political theory, and public policy; policy makers, policy analysts and journalists working in these fields, with special reference to family and welfare policy and social reform.