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Topics in Political Theory: Global Justice
POSC 32003
Fall 2012
T/TH, 2:00 – 3:20, Scharbauer 1007
Contact information
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Instructor: Dr. Sam Arnold
Email: s.arnold@tcu.edu
Office: 2007G Scharbauer Hall
Office Hours: T, 3:30 – 4:30, W 1:00 – 2:00, and by appointment
Course description
This course provides an introduction to ethical problems in international politics.
More specifically, the course will explore the concept of justice and what it
demands regarding a range of urgent and controversial international problems,
including war, humanitarian intervention, global poverty, inequality, fair trade,
and climate change.
The course divides into three parts. First, we consider just war theory, asking
what norms of justice apply to states during wartime. Our main guide will be
Michael Walzer’s magisterial Just and Unjust Wars, a text still used at West Point
and other military academies. We consider topics such as pacifism,
humanitarian intervention, the justice of preemptive attacks against a likely
enemy, and the morality of torture. Students will apply just war theory to
concrete cases such as Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
In the second part of the course, we consider questions of global economic
justice. Specific questions include: do the global rich have moral obligations to
assist the global poor? Do you act wrongly by spending money on movie tickets,
fancy clothes, or TCU’s tuition when that money could go, instead, to aid
agencies like Oxfam? Does the global economic order—comprised of institutions
like the WTO, the IMF, and so on—harm the global poor? What is fair trade? Is
it identical with free trade? Is it wrongfully exploitative for companies like
Apple to pay workers in China wages that seem scandalously low to Westerners?
We pursue these and related questions via provocative readings by Peter Singer,
Thomas Pogge, David Miller, Joseph Stiglitz, and other contemporary political
philosophers and economists. To provide context for our philosophical inquiries,
we watch two documentaries on globalization, Life and Debt (on the
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consequences of globalization for Jamaica) and Black Gold (on the coffee trade in
Ethiopia).
In the final part of the course we turn to climate change. To bone up on the
science of climate change, we watch Six Degrees Could Change the World, a
National Geographic documentary. Then we focus on the ethics of climate
change. Responding to climate change will be very costly. Should we pay these
costs, and if so, how should they be distributed? Should high-polluting nations
pay more than low-polluting ones? We also consider questions of individual
responsibility. Do you have an obligation to recycle? Is it wrong to buy a gas
guzzling Ford pickup rather than a Toyota Prius?
Learning goals
This class will help students learn to…
o Read difficult texts critically, carefully, and deeply
o Think critically and independently about pressing normative issues (like
war, global poverty, and climate change)
o Write argumentative essays with clarity, rigor, and grace
o Engage in respectful, intellectually serious debate about controversial
political topics and values
o Understand the major theoretical positions on various topics in global
justice: just war theory, global economic justice, climate change, etc.
Required texts
o Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, 4th edition
o Reading packet, available for purchase in the Political Science department
Overview of assignments
o Argumentative Essay 1. 6-8 pages. Topics to be distributed. Some topics
may require the student to perform independent research. (For instance,
one possible essay topic might be the justice of the Iraq war; to respond
satisfactorily, you might need to do some independent research to
familiarize yourself with the basic facts of the war.) Due Sunday, October
21st by 11:59 PM.
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o Argumentative Essay 2. 6-8 pages. Topics to be distributed. Some topics
may require the student to perform independent research. Due Sunday,
December 2nd by 11:59 PM.
o Final exam. Date and time TBA. This exam will be comprehensive in its
coverage: anything from the first class to the last is fair game. It will
consist of short answer questions, multiple choice questions, and longer
essay questions. The exam will test your comprehension of the course
readings and will ask you to engage critically with these readings.
o Unannounced reading quizzes. These pop quizzes will be short—they
should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. And they should be
easy, provided you have done the reading carefully. Number of quizzes
to be determined. I will drop your lowest score.
Grading policy
Your course grade will be a function of the following:
o
o
o
o
o
Essay 1 (20%)
Essay 2 (25%)
Final Exam (25%)
Reading quizzes (15%)
Participation (15%)
Assignments will be graded on the usual A - F scale, with numerical values as
follows:
A
A/AAA-/B+
B+
B+/B
B
B/BBB-/C+
C+
C+/C
C
CD+
D
4.000
3.85
3.700
3.500
3.300
3.150
3.000
2.850
2.700
2.500
2.300
2.150
2.000
1.700
1.300
1.000
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F
0
I will say more about grading standards—that is, what it takes to get an A, a B,
and so on—when we discuss the first paper assignment.
A word on participation
People learn political theory best by doing it: that is, by discussing and criticizing
arguments and ideas with other people. Accordingly, I will give you ample
opportunity to participate in class, which I hope will resemble a seminar more
than a lecture. However, this strategy will work only if you arrive to class
willing and able to discuss the readings in an informed, critical way. So please
do prepare conscientiously for class.
I recognize that some students are reluctant to speak in class. I understand their
reluctance, but I encourage them to work through it. Learning to present ideas
and raise questions in a group setting is a crucial part of your college education.
However, if you find yourself unable to speak regularly in class, come see me
during office hours and we can discuss other ways in which you might
participate.
Course Policies
My course policies rest on three principles. Course policies should a) create an
effective learning environment; b) treat all students fairly; and c) treat students as
adults: that is, as people who are worthy of respect and accountable for their
actions. The following policies reflect these three principles.
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Attendance: You are required to attend class. Absences will negatively
affect your participation grade. If you have to miss class for a legitimate
reason, let me know as far in advance as possible. Please note: there will
be no makeups for reading quizzes. So if you miss class (without
legitimate reason) on the day of an unannounced reading quiz, you will
get a zero for the quiz.
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Late work: You are required to hand assignments in on time. Late
assignments will be penalized 2/3 of a letter grade per day. (So an A
paper that is one day late will drop from an A to a B+.) This penalty will
be waived if and only if you have a legitimate excuse. It is not possible to
define the category of “legitimate excuse” exhaustively, but examples will
give you the general idea.
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o Legitimate excuses include: severe, documented illness;
documented family or personal crisis (death in the family, etc.).
o Here are a few excuses that won’t cut the mustard: “I had a lot of
work this weekend.” “My fraternity/sorority/church
group/anarchist cell threw a party and I couldn’t work on the
paper.” “I was so busy with sports/the student newspaper/my
intramural team/my job that I couldn’t fit in the assignment.”
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Laptops/phones/etc.: My policy here is simple. Use laptops for notetaking and for accessing any course materials that may be online. Do not
use them for anything else. That means, for example, no internet surfing,
no Facebook, no email, etc. etc. Same goes, of course, for phones and
other devices. I may implement a more draconian policy if laptop use
proves too distracting.
Information for Students with Disabilities
Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act
and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with
disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the
Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic
Services located in Sadler Hall, 11. Accommodations are not retroactive,
therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term
for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be
obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth,
TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.
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Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and
accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact
the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which
they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for
presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment
reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found
at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.HTM.
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Students with emergency medical information or needing special
arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this
information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.
Academic Misconduct
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(From section 3.4 from the Student Handbook) Any act that violates the academic
integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The procedures
used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the offices
of Academic Deans and the Office of Campus Life and are listed in detail in the
Undergraduate Catalog (available online @
http://catalog.tcu.edu/undergraduate/).
Specific examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:
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Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report,
other report, or computer files and listings; using, during any academic
exercise, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge
of the test; collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during
a test or laboratory without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling,
stealing, transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of
a test or other assignment unauthorized for release; substituting for
another student or permitting another student to substitute for oneself.
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Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means
another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of
that work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the
quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit.
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Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing
work offered for credit.
Simply put, don’t cheat. Cheating robs you of the opportunity to learn and
betrays a lack of character and self-respect. Do you want to be the sort of person
who cheats his way through life? Plus, from a purely self-interested point of
view, cheating is a bad bet. I will probably catch you and the consequences are
grim. Trust me: it’s much better to write an awful paper and get a disappointing
(but passing) grade than it is to cheat and get a zero for the assignment, plus
whatever other consequences follow from violating the school’s honor code.
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Schedule of Topics and Readings1
Unit 1: Does the idea of global normative theory even make sense?
1. T, August 21. Introduction to the course.
 Reading:
o Helena De Bres, “The Pink Guide to Taking Philosophy
Classes,” pp. 3-10
2. Th, August 23. Realism: a nation’s gotta do what a nation’s gotta do
 Reading:
o Thucydides, The Melian Conference, from The History of
the Peloponnesian War
o Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (JUW), 3-13.
o Charles Beitz, “The Truth in Realism,” from the
Afterword to Political Theory and International Relations
3. T, August 28. Relativism: isn’t morality just a matter of opinion?
 Reading:
o James Rachels, excerpt from The Elements of Moral
Philosophy
4. Th, August 30. Class cancelled—I’m away at a conference.
 Reading:
o Use this time to read ahead!
Unit 2: Just War Theory
Can there be a just war? The appeal of pacifism
5. T, Sept 4. Pacifism and the idea of a just war
 Reading:
o “Pacifism,” from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, pp. 12, 8-21 [section 2: Varieties of Pacifism]
o Jan Narveson, “Pacifism: A Philosophical Analysis”
6. Th, Sept 6. Pacifism, continued
Unless otherwise noted, all readings are available in the reading packet except
for those found in Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars. Schedule of readings may
change at my discretion.
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Reading:
o Martin Benjamin, “Pacifism for Pragmatists”
o “Pacifism,” SEP, pp. 21-32, 37-43 [sections 3, 4, and 6]
Just war theory: an overview
7. T, Sept 11. The Catholic roots of just war theory
 Reading:
o John Finnis, “The Ethics of War and Peace in the Catholic
Natural Law Tradition” [Available online via ecollege]
o US Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Challenge of Peace
(section 3: The Just War Criteria, paragraphs 80-110)
Jus ad bellum: justice in the resort to war
8. Th, Sept 13. Walzer and the “legalist paradigm”
 Reading:
o Walzer, JUW, pp. 21-33, 51-73
9. T, Sept 18. Wars of self-defense: preemption versus prevention
 Reading:
o Walzer, JUW, pp. 74-85
o “The National Security Strategy of the United States”
o Neta Crawford, “The Best Defense”
10. Th, Sept 20. More on preventive war
 Reading:
o Jeff McMahan, “Preventive War and the Killing of the
Innocent”
o Economist debate on war with Iran
o Read through The New York Times’ briefing on Iran’s
nuclear program:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/cou
ntriesandterritories/iran/nuclear_program/index.html
Humanitarian intervention
11. T, Sept 25. Walzer and Luban on humanitarian intervention
 Reading:
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o Walzer, JUW, pp. 86-97, 101-108
o David Luban, “Just War and Human Rights”
12. Th, Sept 27. Walzer and Luban, round 2
 Reading:
o Walzer, “The Moral Standing of States”
o Luban, “The Romance of the Nation-State”
13. T, Oct 2. Humanitarian intervention: a case study (Iraq)
 Reading:
o Fernando Teson, “Ending Tyranny in Iraq”
o Terry Nardin, “Humanitarian Imperialism”
14. Th, Oct 4. In class writing workshop
 Reading:
o Two student essays, available on ecollege
o Zachary Seech, “Thesis Defense Papers”
o Helena De Bres, Pink Guide to Philosophy, pp. 11-17
FALL BREAK: OCTOBER 8-10
Jus in bello: justice in the conduct of war
15. Th, Oct 11. Walzer on the “war convention”
 Reading:
o Walzer, JUW, pp. 34-46, 127-146.
16. T, Oct 16. McMahan’s challenge to Walzer
 Reading:
o Jeff McMahan, “The Ethics of Killing in War”
17. Th, Oct 18. Torture
 Reading:
o Ben Juratowitch, “Torture is Always Wrong”
o Jeff McMahan, “Torture in Principle and in Practice”
FIRST ESSAY DUE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21st by 11:59 PM
Unit 3: Global Economic Justice
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Responses to global poverty, I: a duty of assistance?
18. T, Oct 23. Peter Singer and the positive duty to give
 Reading:
o Peter Singer, The Life You Can Save, pp. 1-19, 23-41
19. Th, Oct 25. Two skeptical responses to Singer.
 Reading:
o John Kekes, “On the Supposed Obligation to Relieve
Famine”
o Garrett Hardin, “Lifeboat Ethics”
20. T, Oct 30. Another response to Singer.
 Reading:
o Richard Miller, “Beneficence, Duty and Distance”
Responses to global poverty, II: a duty not to harm?
21. Th, Nov 1. In class film: Life and Debt
 Reading:
o Joseph Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work, Ch 2
o Robert Skidelsky, “Gloomy About Globalization,”
Review of Making Globalization Work
22. T, Nov 6. Does the global order harm the poor?
 Reading:
o Thomas Pogge, “Recognized and Violated by
International Law: The Human Rights of the Global
Poor”
o Matthias Risse, “Do We Owe the Global Poor Assistance
or Rectification?”
Trade: what is the relationship between free trade and fair trade?
23. Th, Nov 8. In class film: Black Gold.
 Reading:
o Joseph Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work, Ch. 3
o Jagdish Bagwati, In Defense of Globalization, Ch. 5
24. T, Nov 13. Discussion of movie and fair trade
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
Reading:
o David Miller, “Fair trade: what does it mean and why
does it matter?”
Labor standards: justice, responsibility, sweatshops
25. Th, Nov 15. Are sweatshops immoral?
 Reading:
o “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad,” New
York Times, January 25, 2010
o Nicholas Kristof, “Where Sweatshops are a Dream,” NYT
o Jeremy Snyder, “Needs Exploitation”
o Benjamin Powell and Matt Zwolinski, “The Ethical and
Economic Case Against Sweatshop Labor: A Critical
Assessment,” pp. 466-471
26. T, Nov 20. Sweatshops, global justice, and moral responsibility
 Reading:
o Iris Marion Young, “Responsibility and Global Labor
Justice”
THANKSGIVING BREAK – no class Th, Nov 22
Unit 4: Climate Change
27. T, Nov 27. In-class movie: Six Degrees Could Change the World
 Reading:
o Stephen Gardiner, “Ethics and Global Climate Change”
28. Th, Nov 29. Climate change and the moral obligations of states
 Reading:
o Peter Singer, “One Atmosphere”
o Bjorn Lomborg, “The Truth About the Environment”
ESSAY 2 DUE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2nd AT 11:59 PM
29. T, Dec 4. Climate change and the moral obligations of individuals
 Reading:
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o Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, “It’s Not My Fault: Global
Warming and Individual Moral Obligations”
o James Garvey, “Climate Change and Causal Inefficacy:
Why Go Green When It Makes No Difference?”
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