西方传统中，社会契约理论是最强大的社会正义理论之一，罗尔斯的正义论在当代首屈一指，但它也未能解决如下三个社会正义问题：我们如何把教育、健康关怀、政治权利和自由等这些平等的公民权利延伸到那些身体和心理不健全者？我们如何把正义和有尊严的生活条件延伸到世界上的所有公民？我们如何把非人类动物纳入我们的社会正义观？
玛莎•C•纳斯鲍姆的杰出著作《正义的前沿》，正是从处理这三个长期被现存理论所忽视的、亟待解决的社会正义问题入手，寻求一种可以更好地指引我们进行社会合作的社会正义理论。基于对现有社会契约理论在这三个方面局限性的反思，纳斯鲍姆发展出一种基于“能力”的替代理论，这一理论有助于我们更清楚地思考政治合作的目的和政治原则的本质，以及期待一种适应于所有物种包括非人类动物的更大正义。

Theories of social justice are necessarily abstract, reaching beyond the particular and the immediate to the general and the timeless. Yet such theories, addressing the world and its problems, must respond to the real and changing dilemmas of the day. A brilliant work of practical philosophy, "Frontiers of Justice" is dedicated to this proposition. Taking up three urgent problems of social justice neglected by current theories and thus harder to tackle in practical terms and everyday life, Martha Nussbaum seeks a theory of social justice that can guide us to a richer, more responsive approach to social cooperation. The idea of the social contract--especially as developed in the work of John Rawls--is one of the most powerful approaches to social justice in the Western tradition. But as Nussbaum demonstrates, even Rawls's theory, suggesting a contract for mutual advantage among approximate equals, cannot address questions of social justice posed by unequal parties. How, for instance, can we extend the equal rights of citizenship--education, health care, political rights and liberties--to those with physical and mental disabilities? How can we extend justice and dignified life conditions to all citizens of the world? And how, finally, can we bring our treatment of nonhuman animals into our notions of social justice? Exploring the limitations of the social contract in these three areas, Nussbaum devises an alternative theory based on the idea of "capabilities." She helps us to think more clearly about the purposes of political cooperation and the nature of political principles--and to look to a future of greater justice for all.

本书英文版第一版于2010年（告别功利：人文教育忧思录），第二版于2016年，本书为第二版译本。
在这本书中，当代著名哲学家玛莎·努斯鲍姆从根本上批判了一种思想，即教育首先是为经济增长服务的工具。她指出，经济增长并不一定导致更好的生活质量；忽视和嘲讽艺术和人文学科，将使我们大家的生活质量以及我们民主制度的健康陷入危险。
作者指出，从教育的历史上说，人文学科曾经是教育 的中心内容，因为人文教育被认为是培养负责任的、有能力的公民的重要手段。但是，近年来，在世界很多国家，教育的目的走向了令人担忧的方向。急切地想推动经济发展，许多国家日益将培养学生的经济生产力作为主要目标，而不是培养他们的批判性思维能力，让他们成为有知识、有道德、负责任的公民。这种以获利的技能为中心的教育已经腐蚀了青年人质疑权威的勇气与能力，降低了他们对弱势群体、不同文化背景的人的同情心，削弱了他们处理复杂的全球性问题的能力。这些基本能力的缺失对社会和世界的健康发展是有害的。为改变这种状况，作者认为我们应该抵制将教育降格为赢利的工具。相反，我们应该将教育和人文紧密联系起来，让学生们成为对他们的国家和整个世界有责任心的公民。

This book is a study of ancient views about 'moral luck'. It examines the fundamental ethical problem that many of the valued constituents of a well-lived life are vulnerable to factors outside a person's control, and asks how this affects our appraisal of persons and their lives. The Greeks made a profound contribution to these questions, yet neither the problems nor the Greek views of them have received the attention they deserve. This book thus recovers a central dimension of Greek thought and addresses major issues in contemporary ethical theory. One of its most original aspects is its interrelated treatment of both literary and philosophical texts. The Fragility of Goodness has proven to be important reading for philosophers and classicists, and its non-technical style makes it accessible to any educated person interested in the difficult problems it tackles. This new edition features an entirely new preface by Martha Nussbaum.