Topics in Political Thought I:
Distributive Justice in Historical Perspective
POL 484H (F)
Summer 2006, University of Toronto
Time: Tu, Th 4-6pm.
Location: Sidney Smith 2101
Contact information:
Amit Ron
Office Location: Sidney Smith Hall, Room 3001 (100 St. George Street)
Email: amit.ron@utoronto.ca
Phone: 416-946-0178
Office Hours: Tu 2-3:45pm or by appointment.
Course Description
To what extent economic inequalities morally justified? What kinds of political
institutions and processes should determine the distribution of economic goods? How
can political institutions work in favor of the rich and be deemed legitimate by the
public? Can a democracy and vibrant public deliberations be compatible with economic
inequalities? In the seminar, we will examine different answers given to these questions
(and others) by reading and discussing the works of six political philosophers: Aristotle,
John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Rawls. By
putting these philosophers in a dialogue with each other, with contemporary
commentaries about them, and with our own ideas about distributive justice, we will
examine questions of economic policy from broad moral, historical, and philosophical
perspectives. The historical perspective will allow us to broaden the contexts in which
we situate questions of distributive justice.
Philosophical texts from past periods make for difficult reading in terms of content,
language, and format. You should plan on spending ‘quality time’ reading, re-reading,
and thinking about the text in question BEFORE the lecture. Keep in mind that
traditional forms of note taking might not fit studying philosophical texts.
Grading:
Attendance and participation (20%).
Seminar presentation + paper (20%)
Six reading reports: 10% (1.67% each).
Research Paper: 50% (10% article summaries, 5% outline, 35 % final paper)
1
Policies:
a. The criteria for evaluating the essays and the exams are detailed in the relevant
sections in the syllabus. The assignment must be submitted in class on the due date.
Late work will be penalized one grade notch (e.g., B- to C+) for each day it is late.
The weekend counts as one day. If, for some reason, you cannot submit the
assignment on time you must get prior written approval by the instructor. The written
approval should be attached to the assignment when submitted. Permission for late
submission should be requested as soon as possible and at least 48 hours prior to the
due date except in documented cases of emergency.
b. Students who need academic accommodations due to a disability should speak with
me directly.
c. Students are expected to maintain academic integrity and honesty. Plagiarism will be
punished according to the guidelines provided in the “Academic Offences &
Discipline Procedures.”
d. Keep printed copy and an electronic copy of all your papers and coursework until you
receive your grade for the course.
e. The course outline and reading schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s
discretion.
f. June 1 is the eve of the Jewish Shavuot holiday. Students who need to miss class on
that date for this reason should let the instructor know about it in advance.
Textbooks:
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (Hackett, ISBN 0-915144-86-7)
John Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (Harvard University Press, 0-674-005112).
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 2 volumes (Liberty Fund, ISBN 0-86597-008-4).
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings (Hackett, ISBN 0-87220-047-7)
The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. Robert C. Tucker (W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0393-0040-X)
All textbooks are required and are available in the U of T Bookstore. Make sure to buy
the editions specified above.
Reading materials that are not part of the textbooks are available on short-term loan in the
Robarts Library and /or accessed online through the library’s electronic journals.
2
Course Outline and Reading Schedule:
Meeting 1 (May 16, Tuesday)
Topics: Introduction.
Meeting 2 (May 18, Thursday)
Topics: Aristotle
Readings:
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V (Oxford University Press, Trans. Christopher
Rowe), 158-176. [short-term loan]
Aristotle, Politics (Hackett, trans. C. D. C. Reeve), Book I, Book III chapters 6-13, Book
IV chapter 2 (pp. 1-25, 75-91, 103-4). [short-term loan]
Meeting 3 (May 23, Tuesday)
Topics: John Locke
Readings: John Locke, Second Treatise, chapters 1-3, 5, 7-9, 11, 18-19.
John Locke, “An Essay on the Poor Laws” from John Locke, Political Essays, ed. Mark
Goldie (Cambridge University Press) [short-term loan].
Meeting 4 (May 25, Thursday)
Topics: Adam Smith I
Readings: The Wealth of Nations, volume 1, Book I 1-52, 65-104
Meeting 5 (May 30, Tuesday)
Topics: Adam Smith II
Readings:
The Wealth of Nations, Book III, volume 1, 376-380, 411-427; Book IV, 428-434;
volume II, Book IV, 687-8.
3
Meeting 6 (June 1, Thursday)
* Article Summaries Due
Topic: Rousseau
Readings: Rousseau, “Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among
Men,” The Basic Political Writings, 37-81.
“Discourse on Political Economy,” The Basic Political Writings, 111-116, 124, 127-138.
Meeting 7 (June 6, Tuesday)
Topic: Karl Marx I
Readings: The Marx Engels Reader: 469-491,529-534 (from “Manifesto of the
Communist Party” and “Critique of the Gotha Program”).
Meeting 8 (June 11, Thursday)
* Outline is due.
Topic: Karl Marx II, Selections from Capital.
Readings: The Marx Engels Reader, 294-343, 361-364, 431-435.
Meeting 9 (June 13, Tuesday)
Topic: John Rawls I
Readings: Justice as Fairness, Parts I and II.
Meeting 10 (June 18, Thursday)
Topic: John Rawls II
Readings: Justice as Fairness, Parts III and IV.
Meeting 11 (June 20, Tuesday)
Draft of final paper is due.
Topic: Peer-evaluation of drafts.
4
Meeting 12 (June 22, Thursday)
Final paper is due.
Topics: Democracy and Economic Equality.
Readings:
Elizabeth S. Anderson, “What is the Point of Equality?” Ethics, vol. 109, no. 2, 1999,
287-337. [electronic journals / short-term loan]
Joshua Cohen, “The Economic Basis of Deliberative Democracy,” Socialism, eds. Ellen
Frankel Paul et al. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989), 25-50. [Short-term loan]
Requirements:
Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to read the required texts before
class and to be ready to contribute to class discussion, which will be the center of the
seminar.
Short Papers and presentations: In each class session, one or two students will lead the
discussion after he or she will give a short presentation based on a short paper submitted
on that date. Each student has to make a presentation and submit a paper once
throughout the semester. On the second meeting of the class, we will divide the
remaining class sessions between the students.
In the short paper (3-4 pages, double spaced), you have to provide a short analytical
summary of the readings for that meeting. In the summary, you have to focus on the
philosopher’s view of one or more of the following three topics:
1) What is the justification, if any, of economic inequality? According to which
criteria should economic goods be distributed among members of society?
2) What political institutions and processes should determine the distribution of
economic goods?
3) How can political institutions work in favor of the rich and be deemed legitimate
by the public? What kinds of power relationship prevent society from becoming
more just?
The presentation should be 5-7 minutes long. It should summarize the main arguments of
the paper (not summarize the texts in question!) and set topics for class discussion.
5
It is your responsibility to make the presentation lively and interesting to your fellow
students. Simply reading your paper does not make for a good presentation.
Reading Report: For six of the meetings throughout the semester, you have to submit a
reading report (2 pages long, double-spaced). The report will be graded for either a
‘pass’ (1.67 points) or a ‘fail’ grade (0 points). To receive a ‘pass’ grade, the report has
to show that you have read the relevant text and took the assignment seriously. Reports
that leave some parts unanswered or that give irrelevant answers will not receive a ‘pass’
grade.
The report has to include two parts: 1) in your own words (in one paragraph or two),
write the answer that in your view the text provides for one of the three topics above.
Think of yourself as explaining the answer provided in the text to someone who has not
read the text. If there are two texts assigned for the meeting, you can choose either one of
the texts. 2) Cite three key sentences or paragraphs from the text that support the answer
you have provided (include the text itself and the page number). For each, explain briefly
in (2-3 sentences) why do you think it support your thesis. The citations have to come
from three different parts of the text. You cannot bring three sentences from the same
page!
It is your choice of which six reading summaries to submit. However, at least two of
them have to be submitted by June 6. Please note that a ‘pass’ grade does not indicate
that the content of the summary is satisfactorily accurate but only that the summary
testifies of a satisfactory effort to comprehend the readings prior to class discussion.
Final Research Paper:
In the research paper of 7-8 pages (double spaced), you have to compare and contrast the
views of two philosophers we discussed in class in regard to one of the topics outlined
above (the topics for the short paper and the reading reports).
Article Summaries (20%): For the meeting of June 1, identify two articles from scholarly
journal or book chapters that discuss the relationship between the economic and the
political theorizing of each one of the philosophers you choose (that is, a total of four
articles). You can use the list of recommended articles at the end of the syllabus and are
available in the short-term loan or accessible online through the library’s website. Write
a half page single-space summary of the main argument for each of the articles
(remember, a summary of the main argument is not a summary of the article). The
summary should be written in such a way as to convey the main thesis of the article to a
reader who has not read the article.
Outline (5%): For the meeting of June 11, write a detailed outline of your planned paper
and a draft of an opening paragraph.
Final Paper (35%): A draft is due for the meeting of Tuesday 6/20. At this meeting, we
would engage in a peer-review of each other’s articles. It is required to submit a draft by
6
that date, even if for some reason you cannot attend the meeting. The final paper is due
on the last meeting of class on Thursday 6/22.
Recommended Secondary Articles (for final paper):
C. B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism (Oxford University
Press), chapter 5 (pp. 194-257).
Jeffrey Isaac, “Was John Locke a Bourgeois Theorist:? A Critical Appraisal of
Macpherson and Tully,” Canadian Journal of Political & Social Theory, vol. 11, no. 3
(1987),107-129.
Istvan Hont and Michael Ignatieff, “Needs and Justice in the Wealth of Nations: an
Introductory Essay,” in Wealth and Virtue: the Shaping of Political Economy in the
Scottish Enlightenment, eds. Istvan Hont and Michael Ignatieff (Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 1983), 1-44.
Yoav Peled, “Rousseau’s Inhibited Radicalism: An Analysis of his Political Thought in
Light of his Economic Ideas,” American Political Science Review, vol. 74, no. 4 (1980),
1034-1045.
Steven Lukes, Marxism and Morality (Clarendon Press), 1-70.
Jeffrey Vogel, “The Tragedy of History,” New Left Review 220 (Dec. 1996), 36-61.
7