egalitarianism syllabus.pdf

8/11/2019 egalitarianism syllabus.pdf

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POL 520: Seminar in Political Theory: Contemporary Egalitarianism

Alan Patten

Spring 2009

The course explores different theories of equality that have been proposed bypolitical philosophers since the 1960s.

Questions to be considered include the following:

- Is equality a value? Or are the main reasons for caring about inequality

non-egalitarian in character?- Is equality really what we care about, or is it sufficient that people simply

have enough?

- To the extent that equality is a value, along what dimension should people

enjoy equality? Equality of what?

- What is the relationship between equality of opportunity and equality more

generally? Does equality of opportunity have value in its own right that isindependent of the contribution it makes to equality in general?- What is the relationship between equality and luck? Should the egalitarian

aim be to nullify the effects of luck on peoples life prospects?

- Should institutions be the main object of egalitarian concern or shouldegalitarians also be concerned about the presence or absence of an

appropriate egalitarian ethos?

- To what extent, if at all, does legitimate partiality to ones own projects and

relationships place a limit on the redistributive requirements associated with

equality?

Major authors to be read include: John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, Amartya Sen,G.A. Cohen, Thomas Scanlon, Derek Parfit, Thomas Nagel, Samuel Scheffler,

Richard Arneson, Elizabeth Anderson.

Wk 1: Introduction The Problem of Equality

Students planning to take the seminar will be asked to read the followingpaper in advance of the first meeting:

Bernard Williams, The Idea of Equality, in Problems of the Self(andoriginally in P. Laslett and W.G. Runciman (eds.) Philosophy, Politics, and

Society: Second Series (1962).

Note: If there are any students who have never carefully read Rawlss A

Theory of Justice (see wk 2 below) they should also review Chapter 1 as

background to wk 2.


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Wk 5: Equality of Resources

Main Readings:

Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue, Chapters 1-2 (these chapters are reprintsof Equality of Welfare and Equality of Resources, Philosophy & Public

Affairs(1981)).

Recommended Readings:

Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue, Ch. 3.

Symposium in Ethics (October 2002): Symposium on Ronald DworkinsSovereign Virtue, papers by Otsuka and Fleuerbay, with replies by Dworkin.

Philippe Van Parijs, Why Surfers Should be Fed: The Liberal Case for an

Unconditional Basic Income, Philosophy & Public Affairs(1991).

Justine Burley (ed.) Dworkin and His Critics

Colin Macleod, Liberalism, Justice, and Markets

Wk 6: Equality of Welfare

Main Readings:G.A. Cohen, On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice, Ethics(1989)

Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue, ch 8 (pp. 285-99).

Arneson, Richard J. 1989. Equality and equality of opportunity for welfare

Philosophical Studies,56, 77-93.


G.A. Cohen, Expensive Taste Rides Again, in J. Burley (ed.) Dworkin andHis Critics(recommended)

Ronald Dworkin, Reply to Cohen, in Burley (ed.) (recommended)

Richard Arneson, Liberalism, Distributive Subjectivism, and EqualOpportunity for Welfare, excerpt in M. Clayton and A. Williams (eds.) The

Ideal of Equality(or full article in Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1990).

Kasper Lipert-Rasmussen, Arneson on Equality of Opportunity for Welfare,

Journal of Political Philosophy, 1999 (recommended)

Wk 7: The Capability Approach

Main Readings:

Sen, A. (1982) Equality of What?, in Choice, Welfare and Measurement,

Cambridge: MIT Press.

G.A. Cohen, Equality of What?, in A. Sen and M. Nussbaum (eds.) The

Quality of Life.Philip Pettit, Capability and Freedom: A Defense of Sen, Economics and

Philosophy, 17, pp. 1-20 (2001)


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Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue, ch 7 (pp. 299-303)


Andrew Williams, Dworkin on Capability, Ethics(2002)

Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign VirtueRevisited, Ethics(2002), pp. 136-40.

Nussbaum, M. (2000) Women and Human Development: The CapabilitiesApproach, Cambridge, Ch. 1.

Eric Nelson, From Primary Goods to Capabilities, Political Theory36:1

(2008)

Wk 8: Equality or Priority?

Main Readings:

Parfit, Derek (2000) Equality or Priority?, in Clayton, M. and Williams, A.,

ed, The Ideal of Equality, New York: St. Martins Press.

Frankfurt, Harry, Equality as a Moral Idea, Ethics 1987 (reprinted in his

The Importance of What We Care About)T.M. Scanlon, The Diversity of Objections to Inequality, in The Difficulty ofTolerance(reprinted in Clayton, M. and Williams, A., ed, The Ideal of

Equality, New York: St. Martins Press).


Larry Temkin, Equality, Priority, and the Levelling Down Objection, in

Clayon and Williams (eds.) The Ideal of Equality(with portions reprinted from

Temkin, Inequality, ch. 9).Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom, ch. 9

Wk 9: Equality and Partiality

Main Readings:Thomas Nagel, Equality and Partiality(excerpt)

Samuel Scheffler, Relationships and Responsibilities, Philosophy & Public

Affairs(1997)


Samuel Scheffler, Boundaries and Allegiances

Wk 10: Incentives and Inequality

Main Readings:G.A. Cohen, Incentives, Inequality and Community, The Tanner Lectures on

Human Value(reprinted in revised form as Chapter 1 of Cohen, Rescuing

Justice & Equality)G.A. Cohen, Where the action is, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1997


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Josh Cohen, Taking People as they are, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 2001


G.A. Cohen, Rescuing Justice & Equality

Andrew Williams, Incentives, Inequality, and Publicity, Philosophy & Public

Affairs1998A.J. Julius, Basic Structure and the Value of Equality, Philosophy & Public

Affairs2003

Liam Murphy, Institutions and the Demands of Justice, Philosophy & PublicAffairs1998

Thomas Pogge, On the Site of Distributive Justice, Philosophy & Public

Affairs2000

Wk 11: Luck Egalitarianism vs. Democratic Equality

Main Readings

Elizabeth Anderson, What is the Point of Equality? Ethics1999Samuel Scheffler, What is Egalitarianism? Philosophy & Public Affairs2003Ronald Dworkin, Symposium in Ethics(2002): Symposium on Ronald

Dworkins Sovereign Virtue, reply by Dworkin (especially 113-18)

Richard Arneson, Luck Egalitarianism Interpreted and Defended,Philosophical Topics2006.


David Miller, Principles of Social Justice, ch. 11.

Wk 12: Recent Work on Equality

Martin ONeill, What Should Egalitarians Believe? Philosophy & Public Affairs2008.

Michael Titelbaum, What Would a Rawlsian Ethos of Justice Look Like?

Philosophy & Public Affairs2008

Roger Crisp, Equality, Priority, and Compassion, EthicsJuly 2003Paula Casal, Why Sufficiency is Not Enough, Ethics2007

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