Political Philosophy And Organization Studies (431014B6)
Hochschule
Tilburg University (UVT)
Summary of the lectures of PPOS () of Tilburg University. It also includes many examples from the lectures. Every lecture summary includes a short summary of the paper that belongs to that lecture. This course was split up into two parts (1-6 and 7-13). After part 1 you can find practice questions ...
Part 1: What is a just organization? Normative theory Lecture 1-6
Part 2: Power and organization Critical theory Lecture 7-10
Part 3: Contemporary issues in the philosophy of Lecture 11-13
organizations
,Lecture 1: Why organize?
Reading Political Subjects: On the Multitude and Constituent Power (Negri, 1998).
Presentation of the course
This course is about the political philosophy for organization studies. Political subjects are very
relevant to organization studies.
E.g. What is a fair way to organize a society, how to balance opposing political claims, what does it
mean to occupy a position of power, what is the role of technology in exercising power.
Political philosophy
• Political philosophy:
o All activities associated with determining the governance of a group of people.
E.g. Politics versus the political system, consensus and conflict.
o Radical and critical reflection on the fundamentals of reality and human existence.
E.g. Looking for a productive form of not-knowing.
There is a major divide between normative and critical theory.
• Normative theory (John Rawls): Political philosophy as a branch of moral theory, the
philosopher as legislator and judge.
• Critical theory (Michel Foucault): Political philosophy as a branch of social philosophy, the
philosopher as cartographer.
Why organize?
• Man is evil: According to Thomas Hobbes (17th century English philosopher), the state of
nature is the war of all against all. An absolutist state is needed to withhold the slippage into
civil war.
→ Organizations are the outcome of humankind’s inability to cooperate.
E.g. The hunt for toilet paper during the pandemic, terrorism.
• Man is good: According to Benedictus Spinoza (17th century Dutch philosopher), the state of
nature is spontaneous cooperation. There is no need for a strong state, because the
multitude spontaneously and directly governs itself.
→ Organizations are the outcome of individuals’ spontaneous cooperation.
E.g. The pandemic and mutual aid, social movements.
Negri (1998): Spinoza denied the possibility of any cause external to reality (e.g. no God). He raised the
problem of the organization of multiplicity and democracy, and how these can organize themselves. The
common will (democracy) has no outside and it is autonomous.
Hobbes sees individuals as being egotistical and appropriative. They are driven by fear and self-interest, which
is why we need agreements and contracts for peace. These contracts consist of a transfer and the definition of
the powers allocated. Freedom becomes a public right, instead of a natural right.
,Lecture 2: Rawls’ principles of justice
Reading Contemporary political philosophy: an introduction (Kymlicka, 2002)
Some obstacles to reaching a consensus about justice
Agreements on justice are hindered by:
• Conflicts of interest
o Private interest versus the common good.
o Social institutionalism (e.g. rational arguments follow rather than precede moral
beliefs, our conception of justice is influenced by our social position).
• Different conceptions of the good life
o Public versus private matters.
o Moral pluralism: Allowing for different private conceptions of the good life.
o We need a theory of justice that allows for pluralism.
• Unclarity, what are we trying to achieve?
o Egalitarianism: Equal distribution of goods.
▪ Other side: Unfair to people who merit more, equal distribution of misery.
o Libertarianism: Individual freedom from interference.
▪ Other side: Inequality of opportunities, deepening inequality.
o Utilitarianism: Make as many people as possible happy.
▪ Sacrificing a minority makes the majority happier.
To solve these disagreements, there are Rawls’ principles.
Rawl’s principles of justice
AD 3: Rules The just distribution of social primary goods:
of • Primary goods: Goods required for the fulfilment of the good life.
distribution o Natural primary goods (e.g. good health, personal talent).
o Social primary goods (e.g. political freedoms, income).
To understand how much social primary goods everyone gets → AD 1
AD 2: The liberal conception of justice: Primary goods only concern justice (means to a
Moral good life). E.g. Income versus what you do with that income, freedom of speech
pluralism versus what you do with this speech.
• Liberalism: Maximizing individual freedom without harming other’s
freedoms.
• Rawls justice: Justice applies liberalism. The good life is about how to use
one’s freedoms.
AD 1: The original position: Debating justice form behind a veil of ignorance. How would
Problems you want social primary goods to be distributed if you would not know who you
of interest would become in the group?
• Maximin-reasoning: Maximizing the minimum. Risk averse individuals
choose for a group where the interests of those worst off are maximized.
, SO, Rawls thinks:
• Principle 1: The maximum equal distribution of social primary goods to every individual
compatible with the social primary goods of others (basic idea of liberalism).
• Principle 2: There are possible exceptions to equality. Only when those inequalities favour
those least well off (maximin) of when the better social positions are accessible to everyone
(equality of opportunity). .
Rawls’ opinion can be compared with the position of other philosophical movements:
The principles can be applied to situations in practice.
E.g. The just distribution of wages in a company.
• Principle 1: Equal wages for everyone.
• Principle 2: Unequal wages are justified when they favour those with the lowest pay, or
when anyone could potentially access the better paying jobs.
E.g. The just organization of working from home during a lockdown.
• Principle 1: Maximum freedom of choice that can be equally distributed.
• Principle 2: Unequal freedom of choice is justified when they favour those least well off, or
when anyone could potentially access the more privileged positions.
Kymlicka (2002): With his principles, Rawls answers the question of justice. His general conception of justice
consists of the idea that “all social primary goods (e.g. liberty, opportunity, income, wealth) are to be
distributed equally unless an unequal distribution is to the advantage of the least favored. If inequalities can
benefit everyone, they will be acceptable. Inequalities are allowed if they improve my initially equal share, but
not if they invade my fair share (utilitarianism). Some social goods are more important than others, and so
cannot be sacrificed for improvements in those other goods.
His two arguments for the principles are (1) the ideal of equality of opportunity and (2) ‘the original position’. If
one in a pre-social state had to decide which principles should govern their society, they would choose his
principles. This is based on the idea of a social contract. The original position of equality corresponds to the
state of nature in the traditional theory of the social contract. People are behind a veil of ignorance, so that no
one knows his place in society, his class or social status.
Primary goods (social and natural) are needed for the good life. People behind a veil of ignorance seek to
ensure that they will have the best access to those primary goods. Since no one knows what position they will
occupy, they ‘need’ Rawls’ principles to deicde what is best for everyone.
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