Ethical Foundations of Socialism

A number of important issues in the ethical foundations of socialism have been overlooked by mainstream ethical theory. This is doubly regrettable, since both socialist theory and mainstream ethical theory might be improved by their integration. In this seminar, we will attempt to pair works in contemporary ethical theory with works in post-Marxian theory in an attempt to make some substantive progress. Possible topics include: alienation, reification, and objectification for consequentialists, feminists, and market ethicists; social ontology and the values of community and solidarity; ideology and the individuation of options and reasons; exclusionary reasons, the right/wrong reasons distinction, 'role ethics,' and actions in market contexts; exchange, reciprocity, and the obligations of friendship. May be repeated for credit. 2 unit option only for Philosophy PhD students who are beyond the second year.