PHIL1711 · Complex Problems and Enduring Questions

The American Divide: The Philosophy of Inequality

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

This is an Enduring Question course and is open to FRESHMEN only. You must take both ECON1703 and PHIL1711. How should we interpret our nation's persistent inequalities when our founding documents assert the equality of all? Concern over inequality in the U.S. has shown itself in movements like Occupy Wall Street, the Fight for a Fifteen Dollar Minimum Wage, and Black Lives Matter, and has become even more of a focus since the COVID-19 pandemic. These paired courses will examine themeaning, causes, and consequences of inequality from the perspectives of economics and philosophy. Providing a broad picture of the current state of the U.S. economy and analyzing the role of economic policy in determining opportunities and outcomes, these courses will prepare students to develop their own views about how past economic choices have shaped current economic realities and how we might create a more equitable future.