Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-284) and index.

Preface; 1. Introduction; Part One; 2. Communal Blame and the Classical Worldview; 3. Transcendental Authority and the Damnation of Christian Sinners; 4. Internalized Transcendence and the Modern Moral Conscience; Part Two; 5. Moral Responsibility and the Prevention of Harm; 6. Social Expectations, Role Playing, and the Primacy of Moral Agency; 7. Moral Agency and the Distribution of Organizational Blame; Part Three; 8. Actions, Consequences, and the Boundaries of Community; 9. Private Bame and Public Accountability; 10. Conclusion: Morality and Power; Bibiliography; Index.

The question of responsibility plays a critical role not only in our attempts to resolve social and political problems, but in our very conceptions of what those problems are. Who, for example, is to blame for apartheid in South Africa? Is the South African government responsible? What about multinational corporations that do business there? Will uncovering the "true facts of the matter" lead us to the right answer? In an argument both compelling and provocative, Marion Smiley demonstrates how attributions of blame--far from being based on an objective process of factual discovery--are.