The author raises specific questions that restorative justice advocates may anticipate in each of these areas. The author concludes that the chances are remote of any wholesale shift from a criminal justice system that draws much of its strength from the helplessness and dependency it encourages among victims, offenders, and the general public. Under restorative justice, the change would be to a criminal justice system that seeks to empower them through expanded roles, responsibilities, and levels of participation. Conversely, haphazard changes in the name of restorative justice -- without a consistent, information- driven policy framework -- are at risk of being co-opted to perpetuate existing philosophies and goals. Witness, for example, the popularity of community service sentencing for predominantly retributive purposes, as well as the use of victim impact statements to produce harsher sentences for offenders. McElrea has identified two ingredients that are important to the future of restorative justice: political will and financial resources; both are in short supply at the moment. Neither is likely to be forthcoming unless policymakers are systematically engaged in discussing the nature of restorative justice and how it improves upon the current retributive justice system. 16 references