Introductory description

In this course, we shall employ the tools of normative political philosophy to explore how labour market policymakers should respond to the threats and opportunities associated with technological change, paying particular attention to the diversity of reasons, ideals, and values that justify and constrain the exercise of political power in this domain. We explore the role that work should play in our lives and the proper goals of labour market policies.

Some familiarity with economics is desirable but not essential.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Week 1: Introduction and Summary of the Course.
Week 2: Automation and Unemployment.
Week 3: Automation and Economic Inequality.
Week 4: Workplace domination.
Week 5: Basic Income.
Week 6: Reading Week.
Topic 7: The Gender Earnings Gap.
Topic 8: The Four Day Work Week.
Topic 9: Working from Home.
Topic 10: Algorithmic Management.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Comprehend and critically analyse complex arguments relating to the labour market and its regulation
• Provide an account of your considered judgements about the issues discussed, taking account of a variety of opposing arguments and perspectives
• Construct your own sustained argument relating to social and economic values, and defend it against sceptics, using arguments from other disciplines where appropriate

Indicative reading list

Elizabeth Anderson, Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about It) (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017).
David Autor, ‘Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3 (2015), 3-30.
Richard Arneson, ‘Is Work Special? Justice and the Distribution of Employment’, American Political Science Review, 84 (1990), 1127-1147.
Anca Gheaus and Lisa Herzog, ‘The Goods of Work (Other Than Money!)’, Journal of Social Philosophy, 46 (2016), 70-89.
Gina Schouten, Liberalism, Neutrality, and the Gendered Division of Labor (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).
Julie L. Rose, Free Time (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016).
Julie L. Rose, ‘On the Value of Economic Growth’, Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (forthcoming).
Philippe Van Parijs and Yannick Vanderborght, Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and Sane Economy (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 2017).

Subject specific skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire or develop the following subject specific skills:

familiarity with a range of labour market trends, including how these affect the interest of different individuals

the ability to reason and argue about the justifiability of a range of labour market policies in the light of recent and ongoing research in political theory

understanding of how labour markets and their regulation affect social justice

Transferable skills

The module provides students with opportunities to acquire or develop the following transferable skills:

the ability to apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects

the transferable/key/generic skills necessary for employment related to Politics and International Studies, e.g. lateral thinking and problem solving; detailed critical analysis and interpretation of a variety of primary and secondary sources; the ability to digest, retain and apply complex information and ideas; skills in research, independent study, and group discussion; and the ability to consider unfamiliar ideas and ways of thinking

the skills necessary for the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility: e.g. the ability to assess their own capacity for and progress in learning; the ability to organize work and manage their time successfully; the ability to meet deadlines; and the ability to reflect critically on the extent and limitations of how and what they have learned, discovered and understood

skills in the communication of information, ideas, problems and solutions