PH 341: Contemporary Political Philosophy

 

Not offered in 2013-14

AMERICAN LIBERALISM AND THE CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY AND GLOBALIZATION

Americans have long been thought of as a pragmatic, un-philosophical people living in patchwork liberal republic designed mainly to limit power by playing institutions and groups off one another. But is there any underlying positive logic to American liberalism, a logic that might bring people together in a shared political project built on consistent ethical principles, that might have implications for the pursuit of justice beyond our borders?

 

Harvard philosopher John Rawls argued there is a positive, political and ethical logic to American life: justice as fairness. In a series of works published over a long career beginning in the 1950s, Rawls brought together politics, market economics, and ethics, calling on Americans and other Western liberals to re-imagine themselves as free and equal, and then use that imagined dignity to challenge injustice and build a life balancing individual freedom and common responsibility worldwide.

Though contested immediately from all sides, Rawls' rethinking of liberalism rapidly became the most influential American philosophy of all time -- gaining adherents and critics, not only in the U.S., but around the globe. This course will examine Rawls' innovative philosophy, focusing especially on critics who aim to push liberal states not merely to justify settled institutions and practices but to expand them -- to become inclusive of significantly different ways of living and to embrace a global cosmopolitanism.

Can it be done? Is there an American-Western liberalism capable of giving positive meaning to political and social life in the 21st century? Can criticism or extension of Rawls' elegant philosophical vision help make sense of the troubles of the contemporary era?

 

RAWLS' CRITICS

The course will examine works by several respectful critics, who approach Rawls' work from a variety of angles and argue that philosophical vision can help sustain a good, contemporary life:

 

Constitutional Law: eminent legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin thinks equal rights are at the heart of political life.
		Critical Theory: German neo-Marxist Jürgen Habermas argues that making public life more inclusive and participatory is essential.
Communitarianism: moral philosopher Michael Sandel insists that persons are embedded in shared lives with communal traditions that need to be affirmed.
		Diversity: Feminist theorist Iris Young argues for embracing difference and making a virtue of contest.
Cosmopolitanism: Indian Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen argues for a comparative approach, focussing on capabilities and encompassing the many different ways passionate attacks on injustice drive people's lives.