Rawls by Sandel Michael J. Sandel

Assignment: Read the essay “Rawls by Sandel” (written by Michael J. Sandel about the ideas of John Rawls) & The short passage from “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers (start reading from the top of page 225 to the end of Dr. Copelands speech on the middle of page 233). **As always no need to summarize if you dont wish to. Either give me notes OR just discuss the material in a way that makes it clear you have full knowledge of the material. 🙂

1. Rawls Reading: Cover some of the ideas in the essay that I dont go over in the lectures–or that I dont discuss as in-depth as in the reading. You dont have to summarize all the main ideas. **MAKE SURE you understand his commentary on the “Harrison Bergeron” story though thats something people tend to gloss over or misunderstand! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HN1QNiNx3k https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=7CWg9YKbOTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=E8wIosLF7Ws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lME5m01fdNI https://youtu.be/OiX0sPwmL7E https://youtu.be/NU5OdTcd4EA

2. Lecture: What are the main arguments in support of egalitarianism in general (before I discuss John Rawls)? That is why do egalitarians believe that rights and equality must be “positive” in Liberal society to be just? What are the main arguments Rawls gives to support egalitarianism? How can we make social contracts fair and just? What is the “Difference Principle” “Original Position/Veil of Ignorance” thought experiment and why doesnt Rawls believe in “handicapping the talented”? Why doesnt he believe in a meritocracy? Why doesnt he believe that the successful morally deserve their $$? Why does he think we should not use the argument “life isnt fair” to justify inequality? How are European Egalitarians different from American ones (at least sometimes)? How do Egalitarians view affirmative action hate speech/free speech cultural protection of minority groups? What are the main arguments of Marx against capitalism? Who controls the means of production in capitalism socialism and communism? Why isnt china currently communist (and why wasnt the USSR communist)? How is it unfair in a Lockean sense to the proletariat” (the working class)? {“Bourgeoisie” is his term for the ownership class-the CEOS/business owners} Why is capitalism the greatest enemy to private property for Marx? Why isnt simply owning a business labor worthy of deriving a wage from according to Marx? What are the two logical problems of capitalism according to Marx? What is a “co-op/cooperative” and how does it function? Why/how is communism democratic? Why doesnt Marx fear that workers will be lazy if everyone gets paid more or less the same? How can we be sure that the “dirty jobs” in society will still be done even if everyone gets paid more or less the same for every job (according to Kai Nielsen in the second Marx video)? What are the counterarguments agains Marx in the second Marx video?

3. Read the passage from “The heart is a Lonely Hunter.” As some background this is a novel that was published in 1940 by Carson McCullers a young white womxn. I wanted you all to read this because I just finished the book and was struck by how radical McCullers was! Proof that we cant just say “white people were racist back in the day thats just how it was they couldnt help it.” There have always been white allies in society and we can learn a lot from them (those of us who are white). The character giving the speech is black a doctor. Just give me a summary and/or your reaction to the passage. Why does Dr. Copeland think that Karl Marx was a Christlike figure? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hai2viOKyBk :Just give me a view reflections/summary of Angela Davis on why class is important to understand when fighting for racial justice. Why does she think the two go hand in hand? How do these two supplements relate to the lecture video on communism? 4. Just give me your personal thoughts once again. How do you think Egalitarianism stacks up against Libertarianism and the Republican party? What do you think of Communism?

Requirements: 4 pages | .doc file