The continued existence of ghettos in the United States demands that we reflect on the nature of our political values and whether the basic structure of our society is fundamentally just or unjust. Tommie Shelby's Dark Ghettos intends to provide “a detailed defense of the values and principles that … should (and sometimes do) guide grassroots efforts and policy prescriptions” (7) in addressing the injustice of ghettos. Though there are social-scientific studies that lead to proposals of rectification there is “[o]ften missing … sufficient critical reflection on the values that should guide such proposals” (ibid.). For one may look at the ghetto and intuitively assert that there is something wrong there. But this is far from articulating what the problem is and how one should address it. How one formulates what Shelby calls “the problem” (ibid.) will configure what array of answers one can reasonably provide. This is a critical...

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