The greatest impetus behind the sentencing guideline movement was the widespread belief that the traditional indeterminate Federal sentencing practices were in many respects unfair. The author describes the goals of the Commission and provides a short description of its major effort -- the initial set of guidelines. Also discussed are some of the tensions that may exist between a convicted defendant's interests and those of society as a whole in the sentencing process. One of these tensions is between a "charge offense" system and a "real offense" system which considers what the defendant really did as opposed to what he was convicted of doing. Another tension emerges in sentencing ranges between society's legitimate interest in protecting itself from recidivists and an individual's interest in receiving a sentence that is appropriate for the current offense but not unfairly harsh because of a prior criminal record. Also discussed are future tasks and difficulties. 33 notes. (Publisher abstract modified)