Luck egalitarianism is the view that justice requires that we hold people accountable for the choices that they make but not the circumstances that they find themselves in. My aim in this thesis is to reject luck egalitarianism. My argument builds on the recent critique of luck egalitarianism by Elizabeth Anderson. Anderson rejects luck egalitarianism in favor of a view she calls "democratic equality." The aim of democratic equality is to create a community in which citizens relate to one another as equals. This requires, among other things, that we provide citizens with the necessary capabilities and functionings needed in order for them to function as free and equal citizens. In this thesis I argue that Anderson's critique of luck egalitarianism, although successful against the standard luck egalitarian view, does not undermine a weaker version of luck egalitarianism. This position — which I call moderate luck egalitarianism — claims that we ought to apply the choice/circumstance distinction always and only when doing so does not compromise the aims of democratic equality. This is because it is always unfair, according to luck egalitarians, when some people are worse off than others through no fault of their own. Since Anderson's view does not correct for this, we need to combine the aims of democratic equality and luck egalitarianism in the name of fairness. I argue, however, that this is not necessary. Not all inequalities that are the result of people's unchosen circumstances are unfair or unjust; inequalities in income and wealth are unfair only to the extent that they inhibit the ability of individuals to function as free and equal citizens. Thus, luck egalitarians have given us no reason to conjoin the aims of democratic equality and luck egalitarianism: democratic equality suffices. / Master of Arts

The nation stood in either awe or disbelief when Bernie Sanders, a political Independent, only recently turned Democrat, defeated the establishment candidate and former first lady, Hillary Clinton, in the early 2016 New Hampshire primary. As the primaries concluded, it became clear that Sanders’ message resonated. But why was this the case after eight years of “hope and change” under the Obama administration? Furthermore, to what extent did Sanders align with traditional Democrats or traditional Socialists and how can we understand the unprecedented success of a presidential candidate who identifies with socialism? My thesis seeks to answer these puzzles. I do so by: interviewing Sanders supporters, investigating the development of American Socialism and Sanders’ own political identity, and analyzing the economic and social factors leading up to the 2016 primaries. Ultimately, my thesis proposes that Sanders’ ability to win over twelve million votes in the Democratic Party primaries stems from his creation of his own brand of socialism that merged traditional socialist principles of championing the working person with the economic and social realities of twenty first century middle-class America.

In 2002, John Judis and Ruy Teixeira published The Emerging Democratic Majority, a book that postulated that the United States was in the beginning of a political realignment that would spell the end of the Reagan-era coalition that gave Republicans an electoral advantage on the presidency. The authors claimed an electorate that would favor the Democratic Party would emerge to take its place. Since Senator Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election was powered by a coalition that looked much like the one Judis and Teixeira described, it appeared the authors’ thesis was being borne out by actual election results. However, the events of the 2000s and early 2010s have lent both credibility and doubt to this possible realignment, and have drawn attention to the problems of regular realignment theory. Exploring the premise laid out by Judis and Teixeira from their work, The Emerging Democratic Majority, as well as observations about the changing composition of the American electorate, I analyze key groups in the American electorate to determine if these groups are trending more Democratic in presidential and congressional races since the 1988 presidential election. Findings showed several of these groups regularly supported Democratic candidates but did not consistently trend to the Democrats from year to year. Changes across time often depended on match-ups of nonconsecutive years, with Democrats in the year 2008 drawing especially strong support from hypothesized voter groups. While Democrats can count on the support of groups such as voters who achieve high levels of college education or voters with secular outlooks on life, their success still depends highly on candidate quality and advantage on issues and cannot be taken for granted.

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2015 / As a former colonial city, Kinshasa today has developed into a giant metropolis where grand visions, failed realisations and adaptation based on survival seems to succeed and sometimes overlay each other in a complex and heterogeneous urban fabric. Where the colonial planning attempted to create clear zones of separation between the white city and the indigenous suburbs, the post-colonial politics of urbanization have taken a different shift. The spectral ambitions of the leaders on one side and the random occupation of space by city dwellers on the other have resulted in a struggle of power to define and re-appropriate public space in an attempt to create the proper city. Situated on Avenue Bar. Jacques, in an area where the physical and mental tensions that marks the edge of la Ville and la Cité are still perceptible, I propose a performance hub for the everyday. Here staged events just like the spontaneous, and sometimes theatrical, appropriation of space by daily activities will constitute performances. By creating a new synergy between conventionally opposed notions such as formal and informal, old and new, and staged and ambient, this project is an exploration of a model of space-making that breaks away from the authoritarian approach that has punctuated (continues to do so) the shaping of the urban landscape of Kinshasa. Informants for the design derive from patterns and elements that characterize the resilient ways in which the city’s life recreates itself on a daily basis. The urban framework proposes to bridge the Central Market and the City Centre in a soft, egalitarian way where the transformation in the urban character across this area is no longer so harsh. Through themes such as temporality, hybridity and adaptability, this project attempts to form an argument to what Kinshasa’s architecture should lend itself to by blurring the distinction between what is still considered centre and periphery. / EM2017

Thesis ( Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, 2001.

Orientador: Marcus Vinicius Maltempi / Resumo: Este estudo tem como objetivo problematizar a construção do Projeto Político-pedagógico (PPP) como vetor que direciona sentidos para constituição do sujeito democrático na escola. O trabalho tem sua relevância no que é produzido nas relações entre Filosofia da Educação Matemática, Escola Democrática e Projeto Político-pedagógico, como as reflexões filosóficas acerca dos conceitos de homem e sociedade, caros à compreensão de escola democrática. Essa produção também diz do fazer político e pedagógico do professor de matemática. A metodologia da pesquisa é qualitativa pelo tratamento peculiar e não quantitativo dos objetos estudados e também se caracteriza como um estudo em Filosofia da Educação Matemática por apresentar características da pesquisa nessa área ao tratar de objetos ontológicos. Apresenta estudo bibliográfico no que se refere à Filosofia do PPP, aos conceitos de emancipação, democracia e à constituição do sujeito democrático. A produção dos dados ocorre junto a um grupo de educadores de uma instituição pública de ensino, de nível básico, em rodas de conversas específicas sobre as temáticas citadas e presentes no PPP da escola. As discussões foram registradas em áudios e posteriormente transcritas e analisadas. A análise dos dados ocorre num processo de diálogos com corpos teóricos compostos por pensadores educacionais progressistas. Nos resultados observa-se as potencialidades do movimento de produção do PPP para a constituição do sujeito democrático e progressista... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study aims to problematize the construction of the Political-Pedagogical Project (PPP) as a machine that directs meanings for the constitution of the democratic subject in the school. The work has its relevance in what is produced in the relations between Philosophy of Mathematical Education, Democratic School and Political-pedagogical Project, as the philosophical reflections about the concepts of man and society, important to the understanding of democratic school. This production also says of the political and pedagogical doing of the mathematics teacher. The methodology of the research is qualitative by the peculiar and non quantitative treatment of the objects studied and is also characterized as a study in the Philosophy of Mathematical Education for presenting characteristics of the research in this area when dealing with ontological objects. It presents a bibliographical study regarding the Philosophy of the PPP, the concepts of emancipation, democracy and the constitution of the democratic subject. The production of the data occurs together with a group of educators of a public institution of basic level, in wheels of specific conversations on the mentioned subjects and present in the PPP of the school. The discussions were recorded in audios and later transcribed and analyzed. Data analysis occurs in a process of dialogues with theoretical bodies composed of progressive educational thinkers. The results show the potentialities of the PPP production movement for... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

This thesis identifies and analyses the major patterns of class-based structural violence (based on the differential access to class power) in some of the main areas of social organisation in Britain in the period from 1979 to 2010 (the period of neoliberal consolidation in Britain). It does this by pioneering the empirical operationalisation of a neo-Galtungian concept and typology of structural violence. Additionally, the thesis refines the theoretical lens on structural violence for the primary purpose of improving its ability to reach new insights in the process of the empirical analysis of class-based structural violence. These improvements are to a large extent based on a theoretical and typological synthesis of Galtung’s theory of structural violence with Amartya Sen’s conceptualisation of instrumental freedoms. To avoid a static examination of social structures, my work analyses the dynamics of various forms of structural violence in the analysed period understood as the dialectical interplay of structural and subjective agential factors. The extensive and sustained employment of the concept of class-based structural violence in this thesis through a number of specific case studies contributes to a more integrated understanding of the research problem and verifies the hypothesis about the existence of extensive and systemic class-based structural violence in Britain across several main dimensions of social life. My study also elucidates the character of this structural violence and some of the most prominent causal mechanisms by which it is reproduced. This initial cartography of class-based structural violence in Britain also identifies a number of new research questions in relation to the analysed topic.

The EU is an organisation built on the concept of democracy. However, recent developments within certain member-states clearly contradict this claim. A paradox has hence occurred, which is referred to as the “Copenhagen-Dilemma”; only fully democratic states can become members of the union - but once a membership exists, the EU has proven inadequate to deal with democratic backsliding-tendencies. This essay argues that the political debate regarding this dilemma constitutes of at least two main categories of articles and within each of these, three positions can be found: Those focusing on causes to the problem and further how it can be understood are the ‘problem-oriented’ articles. Those arguing for solutions to the Copenhagen-dilemma are the ‘solution-oriented’ articles. Voices within this second category have been examined further in the analysis. They all accept the democratic deficit to be a problem for the EU – but the three positions offer different perceptions on how it can be countered most effectively: 1) The Conservatives; argues that the EU should use the tools already available and instead change their praxis 2) The Reformists; argues that the EU should further develop and reform the available tools 3) The Radicals; argues that the problem has caused a need for new institutions and tools to be created within the EU

No description available.

<p>The first purpose of this study is to examine if democratic aid is a statistically and/or substantially significant determinant of democratic development among semi-democratic states. The second purpose is to discuss the effects of democratic aid in light of the theory of ‘democratic peace’, and the debate on whether exogenous or endogenous factors are primary for democratic development. The research question is: how much, if at all, has democratic aid contributed to democratic development among semi-democratic states from 2000 to 2004?</p><p>The thesis is delimited to observing the total population of states that were semi-democratic in the year 1999, i.e. 56 countries. Moreover, it only detects the potential impact of democratic aid over one five-year period, namely 2000-2004.</p><p>Data from the Freedom House Index (FHI) has been used to distinguish states with semi-democratic regimes from states with other regime-types, and, moreover, to construct two indicators of the dependent variable. The utilized dataset on democratic aid is provided by the Creditor Reporting System (CRS), issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Furthermore, in order to assess the effects of democratic aid, a multiple regression model is employed that controls for nine other variables which have been found to have significant impacts on democratic development in relevant previous research.</p><p>The conclusion is that democratic aid neither had a statistically nor a substantially significant impact on democratic development of semi-democratic states from 2000 to 2004. Thus, it does not strengthen the ‘exogenous standpoint’ for democratic development, and it does not appear to contribute to an expansion of ‘democratic peace’. However, due to a number of factors, it is acknowledged that more research is required in order to assess the effects of democratic aid more adequately.      </p><p> </p>