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Introduction to Political Theory, Honors: Freedom and Equality
POSC 20203
Fall 2012
Contact Information
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Instructor: Dr. Sam Arnold
Email: s.arnold@tcu.edu
Office: 2007G Scharbauer Hall
Office Hours: Tuesday, 3:30-4:30, Wednesday 1:00-2:00, and by
appointment
Course description
We live in a free society, or so many people say. But what is freedom? Does
freedom consist merely in the absence of state interference, or does it require
something more than this? How much freedom should we have? Should we be
able to take drugs? Own guns? Marry same-sex partners? In the first part of
this course, we tackle these and related questions about freedom, one of the two
central concepts in contemporary political theory. In picking readings, I have
prioritized accessibility and relevance. We’ll read historical greats like John
Stuart Mill, cutting-edge journal articles, book chapters, Supreme Court cases,
and pieces drawn from popular sources like The New York Review of Books and
Cato Unbound.
In the course’s second half, we’ll tackle equality, the other major politicalphilosophical concept. Economic inequality in the U.S. has reached
unprecedented levels: America is now one of the most unequal countries in the
developed world, and the gap between rich and poor shows no signs of
shrinking any time soon. But are these facts cause for worry? Is inequality
unfair or otherwise morally objectionable? We will consider a wide range of
answers to these questions drawn from readings historical and contemporary
alike. On the historical side, we’ll read famous works by Rousseau and Marx.
On the contemporary side, we’ll dig into works by, and commentaries on, the
twin titans of political philosophy—Robert Nozick (the renowned libertarian)
and John Rawls (perhaps the most influential political philosopher of the past
100 years). We will also consider more specific questions such as: is affirmative
action fair? Should people mired in unjust poverty be blamed for behaving in
anti-social ways (such as resorting to a life of crime or drugs)? And what moral
limits, if any, should there be on the market?
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Learning Goals
First, the bad news. Many students find political theory difficult. The texts are
demanding and require careful, active study. You can’t skim political theory!
(Or, you can, but you won’t get anything out of it.) Instead, you’ve got to attack
the readings: read them, write notes on them, underline key passages, think
about them, read key passages again, write more notes, and so on, until you not
only a) understand the author’s argument but, crucially, b) are able to critically
evaluate the author’s argument. Your goal, in short, is not merely to understand
what (say) Marx said about (say) capitalism—although that is important—but to
develop an intelligent evaluation of Marx’s argument about capitalism. Does
Marx’s argument work, or not? And if not, why not? Where does he go wrong?
Now, the good news. If you work hard in this class, you will develop a host of
invaluable intellectual tools that will serve you well not only in your other
classes here at TCU but—more importantly—in your life beyond college. This
class will help you…
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Read and understand complicated texts (in any field, not just political
theory)
Understand complex arguments
Evaluate arguments: you’ll learn how to separate good from bad
objections, persuasive versus unpersuasive critiques, and so on
Decide for yourself what to think about a range of pressing political issues
facing America (like economic freedom, taxation, income equality,
affirmative action, etc.)
Write with clarity, precision, rigor, and grace
Revise papers meaningfully
Provide helpful, constructive, but critical feedback on writing from your
peers
Discuss controversial political topics respectfully and deeply
Put simply, if you put in the requisite effort, this course can help you become a
better student, a better critical thinker and writer, and even a better citizen. I
really mean this! I’ve seen these changes happen for countless students. Indeed,
they happened to me!
Required Texts
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Most readings will be in the reading packet, available for purchase in the
Political Science department office. Additional readings may be posted online on
our course’s ecollege site. You are not required to buy any books from the
bookstore.
Overview of Assignments
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Two short papers (6-8 pages in length). Topics to be distributed. You will
be required to re-write the first paper in light of my feedback and that of
your peers. (See below.)
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Final exam. This exam will cover everything from the first class to the
last. It will consist of some mix of multiple-choice questions, true-false
questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. I will hold a
special review session prior to the exam, and I will also distribute a study
guide that will help you prepare.
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Unannounced reading quizzes. These quizzes will be short. Their
function is to ensure that people keep up with the reading (and therefore
can participate in lively, fruitful class discussions). Do the reading for
class, and you shouldn’t have any problem with these quizzes. Number
of quizzes to be determined.
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Peer Review on Paper #1. I’ll put you into “writing groups” of 3 students.
You’ll swap drafts of paper 1 with your group-mates, and provide written
feedback (in the form of a letter approximately 1 single spaced page long)
on your group-mates’ papers. More details to come at a later date.
Due Dates for Assignments
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Draft of Paper 1 due Sunday, October 14th, 11:59 PM.
Peer Review on Draft 1 due Tuesday, October 23.
Revision of Paper 1 due Sunday, October 28th, 11:59 PM.
Paper 2 (final version: no drafts on this one) due Sunday, Dec 2nd, 11:59
PM.
Final Exam. TBA.
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Grading Policy
Your course grade will be a function of the following:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Revision of paper 1 (20%)
Paper 2 (25%)
Final exam (25%)
Unannounced reading quizzes (15%)
Class 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
F
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
0
I will say more about grading standards—that is, what counts as an A paper, a B
paper, etc.—when we discuss the first paper assignment.
A word on participation
People learn philosophy 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. Ideally our class will resemble a seminar
more than a lecture. However, this strategy will only work if you arrive to class
willing and able to discuss the readings in an informed, critical way! So please
do prepare conscientiously for class.
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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 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.
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. The same goes, of course, for phones and
other devices.
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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
(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
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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: How to Do Political Philosophy
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. How to engage with a philosophical argument.
 Reading:
o Peter Singer, excerpt from The Life You Can Save
o Optional: John Shand, Arguing Well, Chapters 2 and 3
(“Arguments” and “How Arguments Fail”)
3. T, August 28. Relativism and politics: isn’t this all 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: Freedom
Freedom: what is it? Rival philosophical conceptions of freedom
5. T, September 4. Negative and positive liberty
 Reading:
o Thomas Hobbes, excerpt from Leviathan
o T.H. Green, excerpt from Lectures on the Principles of
Political Obligation
o Isaiah Berlin, excerpts from “Two Concepts of Liberty”
6. Th, September 6. Negative and positive liberty, continued
Note: all readings available in reading packet unless otherwise noted.
Schedule of readings may change at my discretion.
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Reading:
o Charles Taylor, “What’s Wrong With Negative Liberty?”
7. T, September 11. NO CLASS: Convocation
The Limits of Freedom: Sex, Drugs and Guns
8. Th, Sept. 13. Mill’s Harm Principle
 Reading:
o J.S. Mill, On Liberty (selections)
9. T, Sept 18. Freedom and drug use
 Reading:
o A. Dixon, “Performance-Enhancing Drugs, Paternalism,
and Harm to Sport”
o V. Cakic, “Smart Drugs for Cognitive Enhancement:
Ethical and Pragmatic Considerations”
10. Th, Sept 20. Freedom and pornography
 Reading:
o Catharine Mackinnon, “Pornography, Civil Rights, and
Speech” (excerpts)
o Ronald Dworkin, “Liberty and Pornography”
11. T, Sept 25. Freedom and same-sex marriage
 Reading:
o Hernandez v. Robles, New York decision upholding law
against same-sex marriage (excerpts)
o Ronald Dworkin, “3 Questions for America,” pp. 7-12
12. Th, Sept 27. Freedom and guns
 Reading:
o Hugh LaFollette, “Gun Control”
o Lance Stell, “Gun Control and the Regulation of
Fundamental Rights”
13. T, Oct 2. 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
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Freedom and economic life: capitalism, property, money
14. Th, Oct 4. Capitalism and freedom, part 1
 Readings:
o Milton Friedman, Chapters 1 and 2 of Capitalism and
Freedom
o Michael J. Thompson, “What’s the Matter with
Capitalism?”
FALL BREAK: OCTOBER 8-10
15. Th, Oct 11. Capitalism and freedom, part 2
 Readings:
o G.A. Cohen, “Capitalism, Freedom, Proletariat”
o Edward Bellamy, “How Inequality of Wealth Destroys
Liberty,” in Equality (pp. 82-88)
DRAFT OF PAPER 1 DUE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14 AT 11:59 PM
16. T, Oct 16. Are homeless people free?
 Reading:
o Jeremy Waldron, “Homelessness and Freedom”
17. Th, Oct 18. Universal basic income and “real freedom for all”
 Reading:
o Philippe Van Parjis, “A Basic Income for All”
o Brian Barry, “UBI and the Work Ethic”
o Elizabeth Anderson, “Optional Freedoms”
18. T, Oct 23. In class writing workshop.
 Readings:
o Drafts from other group members
o Donald Murray, “Rewrite for Internal Order”
Unit 3: Equality
Equality in the history of political thought: a quick taste
19. Th, October 25. Rousseau on inequality
 Reading:
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o J.J. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origins and Foundations of
Inequality Among Men (excerpts)
REVISION OF PAPER 1 DUE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28th AT 11:59 PM
20. T, October 30. Marx and communism: from each according to his
ability, to each according to his needs
 Reading:
o Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
(sections I and II)
o Alex Callinicos, The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx, pp.
207-217
Inequality: a moral problem? A first look
21. Th, Nov 1. Inequality today—and does it matter?
 Reading:
o “20 Facts About U.S. Inequality That Everyone Should
Know”:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/cgibin/facts.php
o Will Wilkinson, “Thinking Clearly About Economic
Inequality”
o Brian Barry, “Pathologies of Inequality,” Ch. 13 of Why
Social Justice Matters
Inequality: a moral problem? Two rival theoretical frameworks
22. T, Nov 6. John Rawls’s liberal egalitarianism
 Reading:
o Rawls, excerpts from A Theory of Justice
23. Th, Nov 8. Rawls, continued
 Reading:
o Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An
Introduction, pp. 53-75
24. T, Nov 13. Robert Nozick’s libertarianism
 Reading:
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o Robert Nozick, excerpts from Anarchy, State, and Utopia
o Michael Sandel, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? pp.
62-69
25. Th, Nov 15. Nozick, continued
 Reading:
o Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An
Introduction, pp. 102-138
We live in an unjust world. Now what? Two topics in non-ideal theory
26. T, Nov 20. Affirmative action
 Reading:
o Ronald Dworkin, “Racial Equality and Affirmative
Action”
o Grutter v. Bollinger
THANSGIVING BREAK – no class Th Nov 22
27. T, Nov 27. The moral responsibilities of the oppressed: can we blame
victims of oppression for acting in anti-social ways?
 Reading:
o Tommie Shelby, “Justice, Deviance, and the Dark
Ghetto”
Unit 4: Bonus Topic: The Moral Limits of Markets
28. Th, Nov 29. Should everything be for sale?
 Reading:
o Michael Sandel, “How Markets Crowd Out Morals”
o Matt Welch, response to Sandel
SECOND PAPER DUE, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2nd AT 11:59 PM
29. T, Dec 4. Should sex be for sale?
 Reading:
o Debra Satz, “Markets in Women’s Sexual Labor”
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o Heidi Fleiss, “In Defense of Prostitution”
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