Harvard Kennedy School of Government DPI-235: Economic Justice Spring, 2016 Instructor: Christopher Robichaud Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy Logistics Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:15am-11:30am in L130 Optional Review Sections: Fridays 11:45am-1pm at One Brattle 401 Office Hours: Tuesdays 3-4pm and by appointment Office: Littauer 214, Harvard Kennedy School of Government Email: christopher_robichaud@harvard.edu Phone: (617) 384-8120 (Please schedule office hours through my assistant Rosita) Administrative Assistant Rosita Scarfo Phone: (617) 496-1729 Email: rosita_scarfo@harvard.edu Office: Belfer 127B, Harvard Kennedy School Teaching Fellow David Gray Email: dmgray@gmail.com Overview Worldwide attention on income and wealth inequality has sparked renewed interest in asking what justice demands of our economic institutions and policies. This course provides students with an opportunity to tackle this issue head-on and to explore it with rigor and sophistication. Our discussions will wed empirical findings with theory, always keeping an eye toward policy implications. 1. Response Papers Course Requirements Much of the heavy-lifting for this course will require you to engage the assigned readings. And a significant portion of those readings are in political philosophy, an area that may be unfamiliar to Robichaud 1
some of you. As the instructor, I will work very hard to make sure that this challenging material is useful to you. But I can only accomplish that if you expend some serious effort as well in wrestling with it prior to lecture. As such, you are required to write a one-to-two page (double-spaced) response paper for the reading assigned for each class. If multiple readings have been assigned, you may focus on one reading for your response. These response papers are not intended to take you more than twenty minutes to half an hour to write after you ve read and thought about the relevant article or chapter, of course. Response papers should not be summaries. Think about them like this. If you were called upon at the start of class to read your response, write about what you would want to say to start the conversation and begin to move it forward. You are required to write a response paper for each class; however, your grade will be based on a random selection of them. Your grade will be determined by how insightful, clear, engaging and thought-provoking your responses are the same general standards used in evaluating participation. Response papers constitute 40% of your final grade. 2. Participation Students are expected to attend all lectures and to contribute to class discussions, expand upon ideas presented, challenge classmates, introduce new arguments, etc. Absences will be excused only for medical or family emergencies and for religious holidays. Students are expected to schedule interviews, ordinary medical appointments, and all other business around the lectures. Students are also expected to attend the entirety of each lecture, and so are advised to schedule other courses in a way that allows them to be at each lecture for its duration. Late arrivals and early exits will count as absences. Phones and other devices should be silenced. Designated e-readers are allowed so long as they are used exclusively to refer to the course material for the day. Notes should be taken by hand. There s a general prohibition on using phones, laptops, netbooks, ipads, etc. during lecture. Please do not bring food to class. Beverages are fine. Participation constitutes 10% of your final grade. 3. Term Paper Each of you will be responsible for writing a 12-page term paper. It is to be a philosophicallyinformed policy proposal. That may sound more terrifying than it ought to. By the time you start working on this, you will have read and talked at length about numerous examples of just this sort of thing, and in class I will also provide explicit guidelines for what I m looking for. The important thing to know up front is that you are not expected to write a philosophy paper; rather, you will be expected to advance a policy proposal that incorporates philosophical insight based on the topics explored in this course. Robichaud 2
Your term paper will constitute 50% of your final grade. ADDENDUM I: ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Students are encouraged to re-familiarize themselves with all material relating to academic integrity found here: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/registrar/procedures/integrity This course operates under the expectation that all students understand and will comply with the code of behavior discussed at length under the topics found at the page linked to above. ADDENDUM II: SOCIAL NETWORK POLICY I have an online presence through various social networks and am delighted if you re interested in connecting with me via these sites. I m also perfectly content if you are not. The views I express on these sites are entirely my own and are not to be confused in any way with me speaking in the capacity of my role at HKS. In light of that, while I ll happily accept FB friend requests, Twitter followers, etc., I will not initiate such contact. The idea is to do whatever you re comfortable with. Texts Some of the readings for this course will be available on the course page. Please secure copies of the following books as well. (Don t panic: many of these books are quite short long essays, really and some we will only be reading selections from, but enough to require us to assign the text rather than upload a chunk of the book on Canvas.) In order of appearance: G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism? Jason Brennan, Why Not Capitalism? Murray Rothbard, Anatomy of the State F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia Karl Marx, Karl Marx: Selected Writings 2 nd Edition, edited by David McLellan John Rawls, Theory of Justice Revised Edition (make sure it s the revised edition) Harry Frankfurt On Inequality Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworksi, Markets Without Limits Robichaud 3
Schedule of Topics and Readings 1. Introduction Monday, January 25 Robert Putnam. The American Dream: Myths and Realities, Chapter 1 of Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis (2015). Joseph Stiglitz. Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society, Markets and Inequality, and A Macroeconomic Policy and a Central Bank By and For the 1 Percent, Chapters 2-3, 9 of The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (2013). Dan Ariely, Wealth Inequality in Motion Video http://danariely.com/2013/03/09/wealthinequality-in-motion/ 2. A Moral Defense of Socialism Wednesday, January 27 G. A. Cohen. Why Not Socialism? (2009). I. Socialism vs. Capitalism: Opening Moves G. A. Cohen. Capitalism, Freedom, and the Proletariat, Chapter Seven of On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice (2011). G.A. Cohen. Back to Socialist Basics, Chapter Ten of On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice (2011). 3. A Moral Defense of Capitalism Monday, February 1 Jason Brennan. Why Not Capitalism? (2014). Interlude: r > g 4. Is the Concentration of Wealth Among the Few Inevitable? Wednesday February 3 Thomas Piketty. Introduction, in Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014). Branco Milanovic. The return of patrimonial capitalism : review of Thomas Piketty s Capital in the 21st Century. http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/52384/1/mpra_paper_52384.pdf Crooked Timber Seminar on Thomas Piketty, selections. http://crookedtimber.org/2015/12/07/thomas-piketty-seminar/ Robichaud 4
II. Market Anarchy 5. Against the State Monday, February 8 Murray Rothbard. Anatomy of the State (2013). A. John Simmons. Philosophical Anarchism, Chapter 2 in For and Against the State, edited by John T. Sanders and Jan Narveson (1996). Jan Clifford Lester. Market-Anarchy, Liberty, and Pluralism, Chapter 4 in For and Against the State, edited by John T. Sanders and Jan Narveson (1996). Edward Peter Stringham. Applying Hayek s Insights About Discovery and Spontaneous Order to Governance, Chapter 13 in Private Governance: Creating Order in Economic and Social Life (2015). 6. Hard Libertarianism Wednesday, February 10 III. Libertarianism and Classical Liberalism Robert Nozick. Chapters 1-3, 7 (Section One) and 8 of Anarchy, State and Utopia (1975). 7. Classical Liberalism Wednesday, February 17 F. A. Hayek. Chapters 1-7, The Road to Serfdom (1944.) Emma Rothschild and Amartya Sen, Adam Smith s Economics, in The Cambridge Companion to Adam Smith, edited by Knud Haakonssen (2006). Jonathan Riley, Mill s Political Economy: Ricardian Science and Liberal Utilitarian Art, in The Cambridge Companion to Mill, edited by John Skorupski (1998). Milton Friedman, The Relation Between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom and The Role of Government in a Free Society, in Capitalism and Freedom 40 th Anniversary Edition (2002). 8. Policy and Classical Liberalism Monday, February 22 Robichaud 5
Mark Pennington. Poverty Relief and Public Services: Welfare State or Minimal State and Institutions and International Development: Welfare State or Minimal State, Chapters 6 and 7 of Robust Political Economy: Classical Liberalism and the Future of Public Policy (2011). 9. The Communist Manifesto Wednesday, February 24 IV: Classical Marxism Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto and other selections in Karl Marx: Selected Writings 2 nd Edition, edited by David McLellan (2000). 10. Two Principles of Justice Monday, February 29 V. Rawls: Liberal Egalitarianism John Rawls. Part One, Theory of Justice Revised Edition (1999). 11. The Original Position Wednesday, March 2 John Rawls. Part One (cont d), Theory of Justice Revised Edition (1999). 12. Rawls: Criticisms and Complications Monday, March 7 G. A. Cohen. The Incentives Argument and The Difference Principle, Chapters 1 and 4 in Rescuing Justice and Equality (2008). Milton Fisk. History and Reason in Rawls Moral Theory, in Reading Rawls, edited by Normal Daniels (1989). Norman Daniels. Equal Liberty and Unequal Worth of Liberty, in Reading Rawls, edited by Normal Daniels (1989). 13. Policy and Liberal Egalitarianism: Property-Owning Democracy Wednesday, March 9 Martin O Neill. Free (and Fair) Markets Without Capitalism: Political Values, Principles of Justice, and Property-Owning Democracy, Chapter 4 of Property-Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond, edited by Martin O Neill and Thad Williamson (2014). Robichaud 6
Thad Williamson. Realizing Property-Owning Democracy: A 20-Year Strategy to Create an Egalitarian Distribution of Assets in the United States, Chapter 11 of Property-Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond, edited by Martin O Neill and Thad Williamson (2014). Kevin Vallier, Property Owning Democracy Bleeding Heart Libertarianism http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/11/property-owning-democracy/ (Read all five parts) Interlude: Public Opinion 14. Americans Views on Welfare and Inequality Monday, March 21 Leslie McCall. Americans Beliefs About Inequality: What, When, Who and Why? Chapter 3 of The Undeserving Rich: Americans Beliefs About Inequality, Opportunity and Redistribution (2013). Martin Gilens. Chapters 1-3 of Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy (2000). Fred Feldman and Brad Skow. Desert, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/desert/ VI. More Accounts of Economic Justice 15. Luck Egalitarianism vs. Democratic Equality Wednesday March 23 Ronald Dworkin. Equality of Resources, Chapter 2 in Sovereign Virtue (2002) Elizabeth Anderson. What is the Point of Equality? Ethics (1999) Kok-Chor Tan. Luck Egalitarianism: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 4 in Justice, Institutions & Luck (2012). 16. Capabilities Approach Monday March 28 Amartya Sen. Lives, Freedoms and Capabilities and Capabilities and Resources, Chapters 11 and 12 of The Idea of Justice (2009). Martha Nussbaum. Fundamental Entitlements, Chapter 4 of Creating Capabilities (2011). 17. Neo-Classical Liberalism Monday, April 4 Robichaud 7
John Tomasi. Market Democracy and Two Concepts of Fairness, Chapters 4 and 6 of Free Market Fairness (Princeton University Press, 2012). Bleeding Heart Libertarians Symposium on Free Market Fairness http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/06/introduction-to-the-symposium-on-johntomasis-free-market-fairness/ Replies: http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/category/symposium-on-free-marketfairness/ James W. Nickel, Economic Liberties, in The Idea of a Political Realism: Essays on Rawls, edited by Victoria Davion and Clark Wolf (2000). 18. Prioritarianism and Sufficientarianism Wednesday, April 6 Derek Parfit. Equality or Priority? in The Ideal of Equality, edited by Matthew Clayton and Andrew Williams (2000). Harry Frankfurt, On Inequality (2015). 19. Basic Income and Stakeholder Grants Monday, April 11 VII. More Policy Proposals Daniel Raventos. A Provocative But Possible Proposal and Normative Liberal Justifications, Chapters 1 and 2 of Basic Income: The Material Conditions of Freedom (2007) Phillipe van Parijs. Basic Income: A Simple and Powerful Idea for the 21 st Century, Chapter 1 of Redesigning Distribution: Basic Income And Stakeholder Grants as Cornerstones for an Egalitarian Capitalism, edited by Bruce Ackerman, Anne Alstott and Phillipe van Parijs (2006). Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott. Why Stakeholding?, Chapter 2 of Redesigning Distribution: Basic Income And Stakeholder Grants as Cornerstones for an Egalitarian Capitalism, edited by Bruce Ackerman, Anne Alstott and Phillipe van Parijs (2006). 20. Tax Policies Wednesday, April 13 Richard Epstein. Can Anyone Beat the Flat Tax, in Should Differences in Income and Wealth Matter?, edited by Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred Miller, Jr. and Jeffrey Paul (2002). Liam Murphy and Thomas Nagel. Inheritance, Chapters 7 of The Myth of Ownership (2002). Robichaud 8
Edward McCaffery. The Uneasy Case for Capital Taxation, in Taxation, Economic Prosperity, and Distributive Justice, edited by Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred Miler, Jr. and Jeffrey Paul (2006). Daniel Shaviro. Households and the Fiscal System, in Taxation, Economic Prosperity, and Distributive Justice, edited by Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred Miler, Jr. and Jeffrey Paul (2006). 21. Money in Politics Monday, April 18 VIII. Economic Justice: Further Topics Lawrence Lessig, Why So Damn Much Money and What So Damn Much Money Does, Chapters Nine and Ten of Republic, Lost (New York: Twelve Publishing, 2011). Martin Gilens. The Preference/Policy Link, Chapter 3 of Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America (Princeton University Press, 2012). Joshua Cohen. Money, Politics, Political Equality, Chapter 8 in Philosophy, Politics, Democracy (2009). 22. Economic Reparations Wednesday, April 20 Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Case for Reparations, in The Atlantic (May, 2014) Debra Satz. Countering the Wrongs of the Past: The Role of Reparations, Chapter 8 of Reparations: Interdisciplinary Inquiries, edited by Jon Miller and Rahul Kumar (Oxford University Press 2007). Kok-Chor Tan. Colonialism, Reparations, and Global Justice, Chapter 12 of Reparations: Interdisciplinary Inquiries, edited by Jon Miller and Rahul Kumar (Oxford University Press 2007). 23. Commodification and Exploitation I Monday, April 25 Debra Satz. Noxious Markets and Child Labor: A Normative Perspective, Chapters 4 and 7 of Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale: The Moral Limits of the Market (2010). Michael Sandel. How Markets Crowd Out Morals, in Boston Review http://bostonreview.net/forum-sandel-markets-morals (Read responses as well) Robichaud 9
24. Commodification and Exploitation II Wednesday, April 27 Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski, Markets Without Limits, selections Robichaud 10