Philosophy 178q: Equality and LibertyFall Term 2013

Lecturer: T. M. ScanlonOffice Hours: Mondays 2-4 in Emerson 321or by appointment: 495-3964, scanlon@fas

Section Leaders: Jeremy Fix Email: jeremy.david.fix@gmail.com Office hours: TBA

Richard Sanchez Email: richardasanchez@gmail.com Office Hours: Wednesdays 4-5:30 in Emerson 316

Overview: Many people believe that economic inequality is morally objectionable, but it is not always clear why this is thought to be so. The course will consider a variety of answers to this question, including John Rawls theory of justice. Many other people, such as F. A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Robert Nozick, believe that measures intended to reduce inequality involve unacceptable interference with individual liberty. We will examine their arguments, with the particular aim of understanding the ideas of liberty that they involve. Other topics to be considered include the ideas of desert and responsibility, the need for incentives as a justification for inequality, equality of opportunity, taxation and redistribution, and the applicability of justice to the family. You can get a good idea of some of the themes of the course by looking at my paper, When Does Equality Matter? which is available on the course website.

Requirements: Two 8-10 page papers and a final examination. Study questions for the final examination will be handed out at the last lecture. The first paper is due October 11. The second paper is due November 14. Late papers will be penalized at the rate of 1/3 of a grade per day, including the first weekend. In determining final grades, the first paper will count 25%, the second paper 30%, the final examination 35% and section participation 10%. The papers you submit must be your own work, and any sources used must be clearly cited. You are free to discuss the review questions for the final exam with other students, but no notes or books will be allowed in the examination.

As far as possible, readings will be made available on the course website. The following books are available at the Coop. It would be advisable to hold off buying books until you see what you need.

G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism?David Johnston, ed., EqualityJohn Rawls, A Theory of JusticeRobert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and UtopiaThomas Nagel, Equality and PartialitySusan Moller Okin, Justice, Gender, and the FamilyLiam Murphy and Thomas Nagel, The Myth of OwnershipF. W. Hayek, The Constitution of LibertyMilton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom

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2Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political PhilosophyMichael Walzer, Spheres of Justice

Reading Assignments: Note: Weeks of the course will run Thursday to Wednesday.

1. (September 3) Introduction

Reading: G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism?Also recommended: Scanlon, "When Does Equality Matter?"

2. (September 5, 10) Cohens Egalitarianism

Reading: G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism?

3. (September 12, 17) Libertarianism I

Reading: F. A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, pp. 11-21, 29-38, 67-69, 85-102, 133-147.Hayek, The Principles of a Liberal Social OrderMilton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, Chs 1, 2.[Also recommended: Rawls, A Theory of Justice 42, 43.]

4. (September 19, 24) Libertarianism II

Reading: Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia, pp. 149-182;Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, pp. 25-26.

5. (September 26, October 1) Rawls on Justice and Equality I

Reading: Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1-4, 9, 10-17

6. (October 3, 8) Equality, Desert, and Responsibility

Reading: Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia, pp. 213-231;Rawls, A Theory of Justice 47, 48 (pp. 267-276);Samuel Scheffler, Responsibility, Reactive Attitudes, and Liberalism in Philosophy and Politics, Philosophy & Public Affairs 21 (1992) pp. 299-323.N. Gregory Mankiw, Defending the One Percent, Journal of Economic Perspectives (2013), pp. 32-33,[Also recommended: Scheffler, Justice and Desert in Liberal Theory, California Law Review 88 (2000), pp. 965-990.]

First Paper Due October 11

7. (October 10, 15) Rawls on Justice and Equality II

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3Reading: Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 24-26, 18, 19.

8. (October 17, 22) Equality and Incentives

Reading: G. A. Cohen, "Where the Action Is: On the Site of Distributive Justice, Philosophy & Public Affairs 26 (1997) pp. 3-30;Thomas Nagel, Equality and Partiality, Chs. 10, 11.[Also recommended: A. J. Julius, Basic Structure and the Value of Equality,Philosophy & Public Affairs 31 (2003), pp. 321-355.]

9. (October 24, 29) Taxation and Redistribution

Reading: Rawls, A Theory of Justice, pp. 242-251 Nagel and Murphy, The Myth of Ownership, pp. 13-37, 63-66, 130-141. N. Gregory Mankiw, Defending the One Percent, pp. 29-32. Also recommended: Murphy and Nagel, pp. 66-70. 142-161.For critical discussion, see essays by Brennan, Stewart and Young, and reply by Murphy, Australian Journal of Legal Philosophy (2005), pp. 129-154.Murphy, Taxes, Property, Justice, NYU Journal of Law & Liberty, 2005. Pp. 983-986.

10. (October 31, November 5) Equality of Respect and Distinctions in Status

Reading: Rousseau, selections from Discourse on Inequality; in Johnston, pp. 32-41, 50-56; Rawls, 67;Michael Walzer, Spheres of Justice, Chs. 6, 11;Nozick, pp. 239-250;Nagel, Equality and Partiality, Ch.12.

11. (November 7, 12) Discrimination and Formal Equality of Opportunity

Reading: Tommie Shelby, Race, section 3, pp. 341-346, in David Estlund, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy.Deborah Hellman, When Is Discrimination Wrong?, Chapter 1 (pp. 13-33.)Rawls, A Theory of Justice, pp. 57-58, 62-63.Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, Ch. VII,Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, pp. 153-154.[Also recommended: Hellman, When Is Discrimination Wrong?, Chapter 2; Seana Shiffrin, Race, Labor, and the Fair Equality of Opportunity Principle, Fordham Law Review LXXII (2004).]

Second Paper Due November 14

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412. (November 14, 19) Fair Equality of Opportunity

Reading: Rawls, pp. 73-78, 263-267, 91-92;James Buchanan, Rules for a Fair Game: Contractarian Notes on Distributive Justice.Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, Ch. VI, p. 195;Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty, pp. 91-93;Brian Barry, Why Social Justice Matters, pp. 37-45.Miles Corak, Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility, Journal of Economic Perspectives (2013) pp. 79-102.

13. (November 21, 26) Equality and the Family

Reading: Susan Okin, Justice, Gender and the Family, Chs 1, 5;Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, pp. 162-168Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy, pp. 386-398.

Thanksgiving Break

14. (December 3) Review of the Course

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