This book investigates the ethical principles that should guide government agencies when they regulate activities that pose risks of death to the public. Matthew D. Adler, a professor of law and public policy, constructs a rigorous framework for evaluating fatality risk regulation by synthesizing welfare economics with moral philosophy. He argues against the narrow application of cost-benefit analysis, proposing instead a more nuanced approach that accounts for the distribution of risks and the specific well-being of affected populations.

Experts in bioethics and public policy recognize this work as a significant contribution to the field of population-level ethics. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in economic theory and moral philosophy to fully grasp the author's complex arguments.