PPOL 512 Ethics and Public Policy
This course will explore the relation between the individual and the state in ethical and political thought, so that students can better understand the ethical and political context of policy choices. After briefly considering ancient reflections on the close connection between ethics and politics we then proceed to consider modern social contract theory and its various critics in an attempt to arrive at a richer understanding of the ethical and conceptual articulations of the foundation of modern liberal democracy. Throughout we will consider the challenges that these theories pose for conceiving the proper role of public policy.