PHIL 234(S) Contemporary Political Philosophy: Liberalism and Exclusion
Liberalism defends those political and legal institutions that it considers necessary to secure the rights all humans are thought to possess in virtue of their being equal in certain salient respects. However, liberal theories and institutions have repeatedly been subjected to the criticism that they fail to address, and perhaps even exacerbate, the exclusion of certain groups. If this is so, then liberalism is inadequate on its own grounds, for in the name of equality it actually countenances and may magnify important inequalities. We will begin by considering how Kant and Mill, from the ideals of autonomy and utility respectively, derive civil and political rights, and a just legal order meant to secure them. We will then take up a variety of criticisms to the effect that such liberal theories, and the societies constructed upon them, cannot remedy, and perhaps even give rise to, economic, racial, and gender-based exclusions and inequalities. We will end by asking whether Rawls can successfully answer these critiques, while retaining a robust and defensible contemporary revision of classical liberal theory. Readings will include Karl Marx, Amartya Sen, W. E. B. Du Bois, Oliver Cox, Charles Mills, Susan Okin, Carol Gilligan, Joan Tronto, and Seyla Benhabib. Requirements: several short assignments during the semester, and one 12- to 15-page term paper. Prerequisite: Philosophy 101.