Modern Political Thought

Catalog description

What is justice? In a just society how would wealth be distributed? Would such distribution respect property rights? Does the state have the exclusive right to punish and if so why? Should the family be regarded as beyond justice? Is there a tension between democratic self-governance and freedoms from coercion? With an emphasize on both lectures and Socratic dialogue, this course is designed to engage students in conversations with the most important work in modern and contemporary political thought and to get them to engage with the most fundamental questions faced by our polity. We will draw on canonical modern and contemporary writers to see understand the most important debates of the modern period and as importantly to help us dig deep into fundamental questions of justice and legitimacy. Readings from Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Rawls, Okin, Cohen and others. Some prior work in political theory or philosophy suggested.