Philosophers have always concerned themselves with virtues, while theologians ponder sins. But what about the ordinary vices? In her lucid essay, Judith N. Shklar explores the political and personal dimensions of commonplace evils such as cruelty, hypocrisy, snobbery, betrayal, and misanthropy. She does not follow a philological argument but embarks on an adventurous journey through the moral minefield of literature, theater, and philosophy. The surprising result: these ordinary vices prove to be quite fruitful when framed within the right political order, in an empathetically understood liberalism that demands: better to be free and vicious than forced and morally pure.