Inequality: A Phil Exploration

Catalog description

This course explores the problem of inequality from a philosophical perspective. To that end, we reconstruct and critically evaluate arguments for and against inequality in ancient, modern, and contemporary political philosophy. When, if ever, are social, political, and economic inequalities justified? Is inequality simply a reflection of human nature, or is it the product of society's major institutions? Who has a moral responsibility to combat unjust forms of inequality that already exist? To answer these questions, we survey the works of major figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Marx, DuBois, Rawls, and MacKinnon.