HPL 450 Global and International Ethics
This course will focus on some of the new ethical issues that face social and political actors in the current period of globalization. We will examine the value questions that arise in relations among nation-states in such contexts as human rights, distributive justice, economic development, and the preservation of the environment. Among the topics to be discussed are just war theory and the analysis and response to terrorism; hunger, welfare, and global distributive justice; immigration and refugees; international business ethics; racism and sexism in national and international contexts; and democracy and the Internet. To illuminate these issues, we will consider alternative contemporary perspectives in political philosophy, including liberal, communitarian, and feminist approaches, and will examine their implications for politics in the context of emerging global frameworks.