Political Philosophy in a Pandemic: Routes to a More Just Future

297 Pages·2021·2.357 MB·English

by  Fay Niker (editor), Aveek Bhattacharya (editor)

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
IN A PANDEMIC
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POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
IN A PANDEMIC
ROUTES TO A MORE JUST FUTURE
edited by
Fay Niker and Aveek Bhattacharya
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First published in Great Britain 2021

Copyright © Fay Niker and Aveek Bhattacharya and contributors, 2021

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Niker, Fay, editor. | Bhattacharya, Aveek, editor.
Title: Political philosophy in a pandemic : routes to a more just future / [edited by]
Fay Niker and Aveek Bhattacharya.
Description: London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifi ers: LCCN 2021007662 (print) | LCCN 2021007663 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781350225893 (hardback) | ISBN 9781350225909 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781350225916 (ebook) | ISBN 9781350225923 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: COVID-19 (Disease)–Philosophy. |
COVID-19 (Disease)–Political aspects. | Epidemics-–Philosophy.
Classifi cation: LCC RA644.C67 P65 2021 (print) | LCC RA644.C67 (ebook) |
DDC 362.1962/414—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007662
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007663

ISBN: HB: 9781-3502-2589-3
PB: 9781-3502-2590-9
ePDF: 9781-3502-2591-6
eBook: 9781-3502-2592-3

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Dedicated to James Towey
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CONTENTS
List of Contributors ix
Foreword by Onora O’Neill, Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve xiv
1 Introduction A veek Bhattacharya and Fay Niker 1
Part I Social Welfare and Vulnerability
2 Risk, Disadvantage and the COVID-19 Crisis
Jonathan Wolff and Avner de-Shalit 13
3 How Should We Distribute Scarce Medical Resources in a
Pandemic? S ara Van Goozen 29
4 Assessing the Impact of School Closures on Children
Th rough a Vulnerability Lens Nicol á s Brando and
Katarina Pitasse Fragoso 43
5 Adequate Housing in a Pandemic D avid Jenkins, Katy Wells
and Kimberley Brownlee 55
Part II Economic Justice
6 Should the Older Generation Pay More of the COVID-19
Debt? David Yarrow 71
7 Rebuilding Social Insurance to End Economic Precarity
Lisa Herzog 85
8 Pandemic Solidarity and Universal Basic Income
Diana Popescu 97
Part III Democratic Relations
9 Legitimating Pandemic- Responsive Policy: Whose Voices
Count When? Rowan Cruft 109
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Contents
10 Living Alone Under Lockdown F elix Pinkert 123
11 Should We Hold Elections During a Pandemic?
Alexandru Volacu 137
12 Th e Pandemic and Our Democratic Way of Life M arc Stears 153
Part IV Speech and (Mis)information
13 Coronavirus Misinformation, Social Media and Freedom of
Speech J eff rey Howard 167
14 What is the Democratic State’s Obligation of Transparency
in Times of Crisis? R ebecca Lowe 177
15 Deferring to Expertise in Public Health Emergencies
Viktor Ivankovi ć and Lovro Savi ć 191
16 Should We Shame Th ose Who Ignore Social Distancing
Guidelines? P aul Billingham and Tom Parr 205
Part V Crisis and Justice
17 Harnessing the Epistemic Value of Crises for Just Ends
Matthew Adams and Fay Niker 219
18 Living Th rough the Pandemic: An Experiment in
Egalitarian Living for the Middle Classes? A nca Gheaus 233
19 Coronavirus and Climate Change: What Can the Former
Teach Us About the Latter? Julia Hermann, Katharina Bauer
and Christian Baatz 243
20 Pandemic as Political Th eory Adam Swift 257
Index 267
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CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew Adams is Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of
Indiana, Bloomington. His research interests are in political philosophy, ethical
theory and applied ethics. He has published several articles in these areas, as
well as co- editing Methods in Bioethics: Th e Way We Reason Now (2017).
Christian Baatz is Professor of Climate Ethics, Sustainability and Global
Justice at Kiel University, where he is leading a research project on the just
distribution of climate change adaptation fi nance. His current work also
focuses on the justifi cation and application of human rights norms.
Katharina Bauer is Assistant Professor of Practical Philosophy at Erasmus
School of Philosophy. Her areas of specialisation are moral philosophy, self-
optimisation and enhancement, theories of practical necessity, and theories
of personal identity and character.
Aveek Bhattacharya is Chief Economist at the Social Market Foundation, a
non- partisan think tank based in London. He holds an MPhil in Political
Th eory from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Social Policy from the
London School of Economics and Political Science. He is one of the editors
of Justice Everywhere , a blog about philosophy in public aff airs.
Paul Billingham is Associate Professor of Political Th eory and a Fellow of
Magdalen College at the University of Oxford. Most of his research focuses
on debates within political liberalism and concerning the place of religion in
public life.
Nicol á s Brando is Newton International Fellow (British Academy) at the
Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast. His research
focuses on justice, education and children’s rights. He is co- editor of the
volume Philosophy and Child Poverty: Refl ections on the Ethics and Politics of
Poor Children and their Families (2019).
Kimberley Brownlee is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British
Columbia. Her current work focuses on the ethics of sociability, social rights,
human rights and freedom of association. Most recently, she has been
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