POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY CORE POLITICAL VALUES AND IDEAS

Course Objective: In this course, students will learn about the fundamental values in political philosophy such as freedom, equality, justice, and so on, and the different ways one could interpret and balance these values in practice.

Course Content: The course introduces students to the concepts of political freedom (negative, positive, republican), (2) equality (equality of opportunity, political equality, material equality, equity, and luck egalitarianism), (3) justice (entitlement, need, recognition, fairness, affirmative action), and (4) power and legitimacy. Learning about these key concepts will enable students to develop a wider perspective in understanding their status as citizens and the question of limiting state power. By educating students on the core concerns of political philosophy, the course also helps students to dissect and evaluate the core elements of political debate, so they can see the pros and cons of every key political position. For instance, when they are to assess distributive questions and public policy decisions (e.g., who will get the state scholarship: the poor, the immigrant, the disabled, the disadvantaged, the most hardworking, and so on?), they will be able to assess the problem in terms of political concepts like desert, need, and entitlement.