Dr Sarah Goff

This course is available on the MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environmental Economics and Climate Change) (LSE and Peking University) and MSc in Political Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course aims to analyze the concept of social justice, examine which economic system might best achieve it, and consider the implications for the organization of work. The positions to be assessed span the political spectrum, including the classical liberalism of F. A. Hayek, the modern liberalism of John Rawls, Robert Nozick’s libertarianism, and interpretations and defenses of Karl Marx. Topics likely to be addressed include contemporary debates about exploitation, domination in work and the labour market, working hours and their implications for rights to leisure, dignity and recognition in work, and the role of business ethics in unjust societies.

This course provides seminars totalling 20 hours in the LT. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online and on-campus seminars. There will be a reading week in LT Week 6.

Students will submit a short formative essay (up to 1500 words) and will be given feedback on this before submitting their assessed coursework.

F. A. Hayek (1976) The Mirage of Social Justice; Joseph Heath (2014) Morality, Competition, and the Firm; Robert Nozick (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia; G.A. Cohen (1995) Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality; John Rawls (1971) A Theory of Justice; Elizabeth Anderson (2017) Private Government; Robert S. Taylor (2017) Exit Left; Julie L. Rose (2016) Free Time; Ned Dobos, ‘Exploitation, Working Poverty, and the Expressive Power of Wages’ Journal of Applied Philosophy (2018); Mirjam Muller, ‘Emotional Labour: A Case of Gender-Specific Exploitation’ Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (2019); Jahel Queralt, ‘Protecting the Entrepreneurial Poor: a Human Rights Approach’ Politics, Philosophy & Economics (2019); Tom Parr, ‘Automation, Unemployment, and Taxation’ Social Theory & Practice (2021).

Essay (100%, 4000 words).

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