Course syllabus

PHIL 310: 2017

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY III

CURRENT ISSUES IN GLOBAL JUSTICE

 

Recently I have been asked to post this update about Tuakana mentor information so I am placing it upfront to enhance visibility. The contact person is:

Nathan Rew

e-mail:  nrew454@aucklanduni.ac.nz

Nate's cohort includes all Maori and Pacific students enrolled in Philosophy courses in stage 1 through to 3. 

 

For a readable copy of this syllabus that preserves formatting click here

In The Law of Peoples John Rawls sets out the general principles that should regulate the interactions of all the peoples of the world. He argues that these principles should be acceptable to both liberal and non-liberal societies. We start off by examining whether Rawls' principles are an adequate standard for regulating peoples' behaviour and whether the principles should be acceptable to liberal and non-liberal societies. We then move on to discuss the work of several critics who have in common that they present much bolder accounts of the principles that should define just interaction at the international level.

 

We consider various issues related to Global Distributive Justice, such as these: What, if anything, are people owed as a matter of justice in the global context?   If there are duties of justice, what grounds these? Do we have responsibilities to assist the global poor? Are there global distributive justice duties to assist the global poor? If so, on what basis should distribution proceed?   Should we endorse a Global Difference Principle? Are global taxes such as Thomas Pogge’s proposed Global Resources Dividend defensible? Is Global Equality of Opportunity an important ideal?

 

Having dealt with some fundamental theoretical issues, we go on to consider how these might apply to a range of public policy issues such as: Which restrictions on immigration, if any, are justified? Are protectionist policies in trade justified? Can globalization be better harnessed to assist the global poor? How can we better assist those in poor countries who are trying to help themselves?  

 

In the second part of the course we consider issues concerning the basis and limits of sovereignty in some detail, also considering issues related to when (if ever) intervention is justified at the international level.   Some questions considered here include: Is military intervention ever justified for humanitarian purposes (such as, in recent years in the cases of Sudan, Libya or Rwanda?) When, if ever, is war permissible? Can preventive war ever be justified using the just war framework? Issues of global governance and democracy at the global level will also be considered.

 

 

Lecturer:                    Professor Gillian Brock

 

Lectures:                    Wednesdays, 2-4pm. (206-315)

 

Discussion hour:       Wednesdays 4-5pm. These start in the second week of the semester. (206-216.)

 

 

Assessment: 60% final 3-hour examination, 40% coursework. Coursework consists of one 3000 word essay. There is no plussage in this course. Essays handed in less than one week later than the due date will be penalized by 5 percent. Essays more than one week late and less than two weeks late are penalized at 10 percent. No essays will be accepted more than two weeks late, unless an extension has been granted by the lecturer prior to the due date. (Extensions are rare to get, but may be given in exceptional circumstances.) The essay topics follow after this outline of the course and list of important readings.

 

Office location:         Room 458, Humanities Building.

 

E-mail: g.brock@auckland.ac.nz to set up an appointment, if you would like one. Email is the best and quickest way to do this, though you may also like to try my extension: 88739 (university phone number is 373 7599).

 

 

Reference Material:

 

Highly recommended:

Gillian Brock Global Justice: A Cosmopolitan Account (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

 

Where they exist, there are links to electronic copies of resources mentioned in this syllabus (below) from the Talis reading list. Additional reading suggestions are also made throughout the course.

 

Because of copyright restrictions only limited portions of some relevant texts are available through Talis, notably:

 

John Rawls The Law of Peoples  (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1999).

 

Rawls’s book is available in the short-term loan library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tentative Schedule

Note that this schedule serves only as a rough guide to approximate course content on a week-by-week basis

The ‘*’ indicates the most essential reading, perhaps the ones to start with if your time is very limited.

 

 

Introduction for weeks 1-4:

In The Law of Peoples John Rawls sets out the general principles that should regulate the interactions of all the peoples of the world.  He argues that these principles should be acceptable to both liberal and non-liberal societies.  We start off by examining whether Rawls' principles are an adequate standard for regulating peoples' behaviour and whether the principles should be acceptable to liberal and non-liberal societies.  We then move on to discuss the work of several critics who have in common that they present much bolder accounts of the principles that should define just interaction at the international level.   The main topics covered in these weeks concern Global Distributive Justice and the best framework for thinking about matters of Global Justice.

 

 

Week 1: 26 July

Introduction to some of the central issues.  Survey of positions and arguments.

Introduction to the central debate.  Introduction to Rawls' views.

 

Readings:

* Extracts from John Rawls The Law of Peoples (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999), pp. 30-43, 48-51, 62-67, 71-72, 75-78. Gillian Brock, Global Justice, Chapter 1.

 

 

Week 2: 2 August.

Rawls' views continued.  Introduction to critics of Rawls' views.   Introducing the views of Thomas Pogge.

Themes introduced and discussed:

Global Distributive Justice.  Should we endorse a Global Difference Principle?  Should we endorse global taxes such as Thomas Pogge’s proposed Global Resource Dividend? 

 

Readings:

* Extracts from John Rawls The Law of Peoples (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999), pp. 105-120.

Charles Beitz Political Theory and International Relations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979), pp. 127-153, and pp. 179-183.

* Thomas Pogge "Priorities of Global Justice" Metaphilosophy 32 (2001): 6-24.

 

 

Week 3: 9 August:

Critics of Rawls' views continued.  Further discussion of Thomas Pogge’s views.

Themes discussed:

Global Distributive Justice.  Should we endorse a “sufficientarian” account of global distributive justice, such as is endorsed by the capabilities approach?

 

Readings:

* Thomas Pogge "An Egalitarian Law of Peoples" Philosophy and Public Affairs 23 (1994): 195-224.

Darrel Moellendorf Cosmopolitan Justice (Boulder: Westview Press, 2002), Chapter 2.

* Martha Nussbaum Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap, 2006), pp. 69-95.

Gillian Brock, Global Justice, Chapter 2.

 

 

Week 4: 16 August

Global Equality of Opportunity

 

Readings:

Bernard Boxill “Global Equality of Opportunity and National Integrity” Social Philosophy and Policy 5 (1987): 143-168.

* Simon Caney "Cosmopolitan Justice and Equalizing Opportunities" Metaphilosophy 32 (2001): 113-134.

David Miller “Against Global Egalitarianism” Journal of Ethics 9 (2005): 55-79.  Reprinted in Gillian Brock and Darrel Moellendorf Current Debates in Global Justice (Dordrecht: Springer, 2005).

Gillian Brock “Egalitarianism, Ideals, and Cosmopolitan Justice” Philosophical Forum 36 (2005): 1-30.

Gillian Brock, Global Justice, Chapter 3.

Note that newer works by Brock on this topic may be posted in CANVAS if they are published soon.

 

 

Week 5: 23 August

Global Equality of Opportunity concluded.  Readings as above.  In addition there will be a discussion of essays in class, with suggestions and advice offered.

 

 

Week 6: 30 August

Immigration:  What restrictions, if any, are justified in immigration?

 

Readings:

* Michael Walzer “The Distribution of Membership” in Boundaries: National Autonomy and Its Limits, ed. Peter G. Brown and Henry Shue (Totowa: Rowman and Littlefield, 1981), pp. 1-35.

* Joseph Carens “Aliens and Citizens: The Case for Open Borders” The Review of Politics 49 (2) (Spring 1987): 251-273.

 

 

MID-SEMESTER BREAK 

 

 

Week 7: 20 September

Immigration continued.  What restrictions, if any, are justified in immigration?

 

Readings:

* Mathias Risse “On the Morality of Immigration” Ethics and International Affairs 22 (2008): 25-33.

Gillian Brock Global Justice, Chapter 8.

 

 

Week 8: 27 September

Immigration concluded. Introduction of a new set of topics:

 

What grounds state sovereignty and what are its limits?  When is the use of force justified at the global level?   An overview of Just War Theory.  Intervention for Humanitarian Purposes.

 

Readings:

* Background reading - “Just War Theory” from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

* Extracts from the “Responsibility to Protect Report” compiled by the Committee on Intervention and State Sovereignty.

Gillian Brock “Humanitarian Intervention” Journal of Applied Philosophy 23 (2006): 277-291 OR Global Justice, Chapter 7.

 

 

Week 9: 4 October

Justified military intervention continued.  Some application of the theory to specific wars, such as, the Second Gulf War.  Can preventive war ever be justified using the just war framework?  

 

Readings:

* David Mellow “Iraq: A Morally Justified War” Journal of Applied Philosophy 23 (2006): 293-310.

* Allen Buchanan and Robert O. Keohane “The Preventive Use of Force: A Cosmopolitan Institutional Proposal” Ethics and International Affairs 18 (2004): 1-22.

 

 

Week 10: 11 October

Global governance and global democracy

 

Readings:

David Held, “Democracy: From City-States to a Cosmopolitan Order?” Political Studies (special issue) 40 (August 1992): 10-39.

Daniel Weinstock “The Real World of (Global) Democracy” Journal of Social Philosophy 37 (2006): 6-20.

Gillian Brock Global Justice, Chapter 4.

 

  

Week 11: 18 October

Does globalization harm or help the global poor?  Can globalization be better harnessed to assist the global poor?  How can we better assist those in poor countries who are trying to help themselves?

 

Readings:

Peter Singer One World: the ethics of globalization (Yale University Press, 2002), Hardcopy, pp. 86-117; E-book version on Pro Quest Ebrary, pp. 77-105.

Mathias Risse “How Does the Global Order Harm the Poor?” Philosophy and Public Affairs 33 (Fall, 2005): 349-376.

Gillian Brock Global Justice, Chapter 5 and Chapter 9.

 

 

Week 12: 25 October

Wrap up and exam preparation.

 

ESSAY

 

Essay questions.

Choose ONE of the following questions:

 

1. Are Rawls’ standards for regulating peoples’ behaviour in the international arena compelling? Should they be persuasive to both liberal and non-liberal peoples? Critically discuss with reference to at least one of the following theorists: Darrel Moellendorf, Thomas Pogge, David Reidy, or James Nickel.

 

1. Should Rawls have included a more substantial list of human rights as part of his Law of Peoples than he apparently does? Critically discuss with reference to at least one of the following theorists: Darrel Moellendorf, Thomas Pogge, David Reidy, or James Nickel.

 

1. What principle of global distributive justice, if any, would you endorse? Be sure to explain where you stand on at least one of the following issues: (i) whether we should endorse a Global Difference Principle or (ii) whether a “sufficientarian” account is more plausible. Critically discuss with reference to at least one of the following theorists: Thomas Pogge, Charles Beitz, Darrel Moellendorf, Martha Nussbaum, or Gillian Brock.

 

1. Are any global taxes defensible? If you do favour global taxes explain what form they should take and defend your view. If you do not favour global taxes explain why no global taxes can be justified.

 

1. Consider the defenses and critiques of Global Equality of Opportunity discussed in this course. Offer an account of Global Equality of Opportunity that you believe to be robust. Explain why your account can address problems discussed by at least one of the following theorists: Simon Caney, Darrel Moellendorf, Bernard Boxill, David Miller, or Gillian Brock.

 

I have also included the option of some essay topics that are intended for independent study and exploration. If you choose 6. 7. or 8. you must also do a 5 minute presentation (in the discussion section or in class) on your essay.

 

1. Familiarise yourself with the so-called “Fair Trade Social Movement” (e.g. by googling the key words). What is Fair Trade? Do consumers have an obligation to purchase fair trade products? Why or why not?

 

1. It is often observed that corruption is a huge problem that prevents developing countries from sustainably addressing poverty. Do you agree? If so, what ought to be done about this issue? If you do not agree explain carefully why not.

 

1. I will allow consideration of other essay topics for this course, especially ones that will allow you to engage in some independent study. If you wish to pursue this option your essay topic must be approved by me by August 23^rd. Note your essay must be completable within the first 7 weeks of the course.       In order for me to approve your special topic I would need a short abstract of the potential topic of at least 150 words. (We may also need to meet to further refine your topic if necessary.)

 

World length: No more than 3000 words

 

Due date: Wednesday, 27 September at noon. A hard copy needs to be submitted, along with the electronic copy (which will be run through turnitin).

 

Help with essay writing will be given during the discussion hours. You are strongly encouraged to attend these sessions to reinforce your learning in this course.