Incivility is rampant in our society. The collapse of community, the dearth of moral education, the lurch toward radical individualism are symptoms of the disease. Stephen L. Carter, professor at Yale University School of Law and author of Integrity, believes that civility is a habit of the heart and an orientation of the soul that enables us "to come into the presence of our fellow human beings with a sense of awe and gratitude." It is a social lubricant — "the sum of the many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake of living together."

Carter criticizes both conservatives and liberals for underplaying this civic virtue. He lambastes our market-driven society for its emphasis upon satisfying selfish, individual desires; the media industry for debasing public dialogue; and cyberspace and telemarketing for fostering new forms of rudeness. In the last section of the book, Carter offers 15 rules that he hopes will be helpful in reconstructing civility. He sees the home as the moral workshop for these principles.