Ethics and Public Policy
Co-Directors:
Contact: ethicsandpublicpolicy@gmail.com
Goals:
- Promote research on the ethical dimensions of public policy.
- Improve ethics education for Public Policy/Public Affairs/Public Administration students.
- Build a community of teachers and researchers.
Members:
- Scholars teaching and conducting research on the normative dimension of public policy.
See: Upcoming Workshops and Events | Past Workshops and Events | Member Directory | Recent Publications | Teaching Resources
Upcoming Workshops and Events
March 29, 2024, 10am ET (Zoom) Author Meets Critics: Jonathan Wolff (University of Oxford) and Avner De-Shalit (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), City of Equals, Oxford University Press, 2024.
Access the book for free here!
Critics: Katarina Pitasse Fragoso (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt) and B.R. van Leeuwen (Radboud University)
Abstract: When we think about equality in the city, we are very likely to think first of the wide and growing divide between rich and poor, in material terms. Yet when we think more about a ‘city of equals’ it becomes apparent that how people feel treated by the city and those around them, and whether they can live according to their values, are much more central. Accordingly, based on the authors’ reflections, a multi-disciplinary literature review, and, distinctively, more than 180 interviews in ten cities in six countries, the book offers an account of a city of equals based on the idea that it should give each of its city-zens a secure sense of place or belonging. Four underlying values structure this account. First, access to the goods and services of the city should not be based purely on the market. Second, each city-zen should be able to live a life they find meaningful. Third, there should be diversity and wide social mixing. Fourth, there should be ‘non-deferential inclusion’, that is, each person in the city should be able to get access to what they are entitled to without being treated as less worthy than others. They should be able to enjoy their rights without bowing and scraping, waiting longer than others, or going through special bureaucratic hurdles. In sum, in a city of equals each person is proud of their city and has the (justified) feeling that their city is proud of (people like) them.