Politics 105-B: Special Topic in Politics - Introductory Level: Theories of Justice: Distribution, Rights, and Recognition

This class examines one of the most fundamental concepts in politics: justice. What do we mean when we describe an institution, a society, or an action as just? How are offices, material goods, and opportunities to be justly distributed? What kinds of relationships are necessary to establish justice, and what kinds of relationships are necessarily unjust? Are there any rights that limit what may be asked for in the pursuit of the common good? Does justice apply only to the "public" realm of law and the economy, or does it also apply to personal preferences and cultural representations? We will explore these questions through recent writings on the theory of justice, including works by John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Charles Taylor, and Iris Marion Young.