Philosophy, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Introduction

Description

What makes a policy work? What should policies attempt to do, and what ought they not do? These questions are at the heart of both policy-making and ethics. Philosophy, Ethics and Public Policy: An Introduction examines these questions and more. Andrew I. Cohen uses contemporary examples and controversies, mainly drawn from policy in a North American context, to illustrate important flashpoints in ethics and public policy, such as: * public policy and globalization: sweatshops; medicine and the developing world; immigration * marriage, family and education: same-sex marriage; women and the family; education and Intelligent Design * justifying and responding to state coercion: torture; reparations and restorative justice * the ethics of the body and commodification: the human organ trade, and factory farming of animals. Each chapter illustrates how ethics offers ways of prioritizing some policy alternatives and imagining new ones. Reflecting on various themes in globalization, markets, and privacy, the chapters are windows to enduring significant debates about what states may do to shape our behavior. Overall, the book will help readers understand how ethics can frame policymaking, while also suggesting that sometimes the best policy is no policy. Including annotated further reading, this is an excellent introduction to a fast-growing subject for students in Philosophy, Public Policy, and related disciplines. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Table of Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Introduction......Page 8 1 Sweatshops......Page 22 2 Pharmaceuticals and the developing world......Page 44 3 Immigration......Page 66 4 Same-sex marriage......Page 88 5 Women and the family......Page 111 6 Education and “intelligent design”......Page 134 7 Torture......Page 151 8 Reparations and restorative justice......Page 168 9 Markets in human body parts and tissues......Page 188 10 Factory farming of animals......Page 209 11 Conclusion......Page 231 Index......Page 234