Overview of module content:
Some concepts analysed in
philosophical texts are relevant not only to the theories in which they appear,
but are also relevant to society itself. One of these is ‘justice’. Since this
module exposes students to a study of concepts, issues and debates in social
and political philosophy it is perfectly poised to investigate ‘justice’.
In particular, this module
will only focus on socio-economic justice. Different political theories have
distinct concepts of socio-economic justice (from now referred to only as
‘justice’). For instance, liberalism connects justice to individual freedom,
and suggests that all other types of justice are a function of individual
freedom. So, for liberalism, justice is dependent on political structures which
maximise the freedoms and human rights of the individual. But such a conception
of justice, others argue, leads to injustice
in society as it does not account for a range of socio-economic inequalities
which naturally occur in free societies. For these theorists, justice cannot be
tied to individual freedom but should rather be tied to concepts of community,
or communitarianism, or communism.
To this end the student will
investigate various academic papers; analysing distinct political philosophies
and their conceptions of justice.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this part of
the module the student will be able to:
I.
Discuss
Marx’s idea of capital, or capitalism, as a source of social dysfunction (which
will be interpreted as ‘injustice’ in this module)
II.
Discuss
Rawl’s concept of justice and fairness, as underpinned by his liberalism
III.
Discuss
Letseka’s critique of Rawlsian justice as compatible with an Ubuntu conception
of justice, even though Ubuntu is a communitarian theory
IV.
Discuss
Young’s criticism of socio-economic justice as redistribution, and her advocacy
of a pluralist, or multifaceted view of justice
