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This paper outlines the concept of labour in socialist Czechoslovakia of the 1960s. It examines on discourses of social and economic reforms and that of the post-Stalin era. The focus lays on main social, economic and ideological categories on which those projects based, on extent of their construction as well as on shifting the emphasis between their particular elements. The paper concerns above all conceivable relation of the newly shaped discourse to effort to reconstitute social differentiation and to overcome the social leveling of the previous Stalin era. An attempt will be made to connect Honnet's theory of recognition with G. Cohen's concept of egalitarian justice. From that perspective, the paper will examine historical tranformations of conceptions of justice, division of labour, a social ethos of different social groups (particullary the educated intelligentsia), legitimacy of given forms of redistribution etc.

<p>This thesis examines the correlation between economic growth and the prevalence of a number of institutions that according to a theory elaborated by economists Christer Gunnarsson and Mauricio Rojas are growth promoting. The economic development and the institutional quality of four African countries, namely Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, is examined by comparing index scores for relevant institutional factors. The results show that some correlation between economic growth and the prevalence of the institutions examined can be confirmed, why the theory only gains moderate support. A minor attempt is also made to trace potential correlations between the level of economic equality and the institutions in question, but no correlation is found in this respect.</p>

Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-330).

Enlightenment theorists like John Locke and Montesquieu were incredibly influential for the American Revolution. However, while Jean-Jacques Rousseau is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment writers in history and while his work was very influential in Europe, especially during the French Revolution, Rousseau's theories were not widely read and he is not considered a strong influence on American political theory. In this thesis, I argue that Rousseau is considered noninfluential in particular because of the conflict between his theories of communtarianism and egalitarianism and Federalist political projects that aimed to convert the United States into a large, mercantalist, international presence. Anti-Federalists were much more receptive to Rousseau's theories but were unable to commit to them fully because of their reliance on chattel slavery and his firm opposition to the institution. Finally, I argue that the tensions between early American politicians and Rousseau's theories of egalitarianism showcase the pseudodemocratic nature of early American politics and rhetoric and explain American government's oligarchic tendencies.

The study sought to establish the effect of age, gender, job level and race on attitudes towards affirmative action. A research was conducted in a government organisation in the security cluster in one of the provinces in South Africa. Findings indicated that men and women’s disposition towards affirmative action was positive. Employees at different job levels and varying age groups were also positive towards affirmative action in general. There were significantly lower numbers of white participants and those on senior management levels such that this cannot be objectively reported. The generally positive regard employees have towards affirmative action is good for the organisation if it wants to build a cohesive culture that is non sexist and does not discriminate on the basis of job level and age. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / (M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology))

Time raises a host of difficult ethical questions. This doctoral project focuses on two: 1. How are "static" comparative principles (e.g. equality, desert) to be understood over time? (The Problem of Fairness & Time) 2. How might separation (in time) between agents, objects, and threats affect claims to the relevant resources? (The New Problem of Temporal Distance) My work begins with a simple observation: our prima facie intuitions about the value of simple distributions change depending on whether such cases are presented as static (occurring at one time) or dynamic (extended over time). Further examination of more complicated distributions leads to the proposal of a new theory, Weighted Progressive Egalitarianism. This theory has two features: only past-regarding complaints matter (a scope restriction), and a comparative complaint between persons located at a great temporal distance matters less than a complaint between contemporaries (a weighting restriction). This theory provides one plausible answer to the first question, the Problem of Fairness & Time. The evaluation of this theory relies on and reveals some non-standard answers to the second question, the New Problem of Temporal Distance. I conclude by arguing that the theory’s application to a few puzzles in population axiology merits further investigation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

L’inflation a diminué de façon importante dans les pays riches depuis le début des années 80. Cette baisse de l’inflation n’est pas un hasard et peut, en partie, être liée à la mise en place de nouvelles institutions et politiques monétaires. Ce mémoire examine la relation qui existe entre deux de ces institutions, l’indépendance politique et le conservatisme d’une banque centrale, et l’idéal d’égalité économique. Peut-on, demandons-nous, être égalitariste et défendre, à la fois, l’indépendance politique d’une banque centrale et la volonté «conservatrice» de faire de l’inflation une priorité relativement au chômage? Le mémoire se divise en trois grandes parties. Une version crédible de l’égalitarisme économique est d’abord présentée. La relation qui existe entre le phénomène d’inflation et l’égalitarisme est, ensuite, examinée. Une réflexion critique sur les fondements théoriques de l’indépendance politique et du conservatisme est, enfin, développée. Nous concluons que la théorie égalitariste ne permet pas, à elle seule, de déterminer si un modèle particulier de banque centrale est moralement désirable. Pour se porter à la défense d’une banque centrale indépendante et conservatrice, un égalitariste doit adhérer à des prémisses économiques contestées. / Inflation has been decreasing in rich countries since the beggining of the 80’s. The creation of new monetary institutions in the western world is, partly at least, responsible for this fall. This Master’s thesis examines the relation beetween the ideal of economic equality and two important monetary institutions: Central bank conservatism and political independance. Can egalitarians support, I ask, the conservatism and the political independance of a central bank? This work is divided in three parts. We, first, present a credible definition of what egalitarism is. We examine the relation that exists beetween inflation and egalitarianism. Finally, we analyse and criticize the theoretical foundation of political independance and monetary conservatism. We conclude that egalitarianism cannot determinate, by itself, the moral quality of monetary institutions. Egalitarians can defend central bank political independance and conservatism, but to do so they have to accept controversial economic premisses.

M.A. Faculty of Humanties, University of the Witwatersrand / The racial discrimination under colonialism and apartheid culminated to the dispossession of black people from their land, and to unequal land distribution between black and white people. Territorial segregation during this period was not only about the displacement of black people from their land and their deprivation to equal access to land compared to their white counterparts, it was also about economic deprivation, eradication of subsistence agriculture and the transformation of blacks into wage labourers (Hall, 2004; Walker, 2008).The post-apartheid land reform process was initiated to redress the injustices and inequalities of the past. It took a market-driven approach to blend the objectives of land reform with those of national reconciliation and maintenance of food security (DLA, 1997). The land reform process took a form of restoring land to its original owners who were forcefully removed from it after June 1913 or compensation if land could not be restored. It was also aimed at securing tenure rights for farm workers, labour tenants, farm dwellers and people residing in communal areas. The aims of the third part of the land reform programme was to redistribute 30% of commercial farms in white hands to black people with the view of redressing racial disparities in landholding. As early as in the initial stages of the development of South Africa’s land policy in the early 1990s, scholars and civil society groups warned about the ineffectiveness of the market to deliver on land reform objectives. This paper adopts a case study approach to study the South African land reform process in relation to the notion of empowerment. It focuses on the Land Reform for Agricultural Development (LRAD) sub-programme by looking at the intersection between race, gender and class. Bambanani Fruits (Pty) Ltd, an LRAD project based in the Gauteng province is used as a case study. This is an LRAD Equity Scheme project, meaning that its beneficiaries (who are former workers on the farm) acquired an LRAD grant to purchase equity shares to be co-owners of the project. Bambanani Fruits is a successful project considering its productivity and access to the market. This paper investigates how much LRAD beneficiaries are part of this success i.e. whether they have agency, whether they feel a sense of ownership and control of the project, and the extent at which they take part in decision making in the project. This task is carried out through the application of Kabeer’s (1999) instrumentalist model of measuring empowerment. Kabeer states that empowerment is measured by looking at three aspects, namely; resources, agency and achievement. Kabeer’s model is applied to the data which was collected through various means including in depth interviews with Bambanani LRAD beneficiaries and land officials from the province, document analysis and review of existing scholarly work on land reform. It is well documented that South Africa’s land reform process has been very slow in delivering to its objectives, and departmental reports used in this paper also confirm this assertion. The research results reveal that even though more land was transferred under LRAD, the sub-programme also encountered some of the challenges and hindrances faced by its predecessor Settlement/Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG). It faced budgetary constraints, complexities of the land market such as price restrictions and resistance by land owners to cede land, and so on. Generally, it was found that LRAD tended to entrench race, gender and class disparities in landholding. At Bambanani, I discovered that LRAD has affected beneficiaries differently. The sub-programme has stratified these beneficiaries into competing class factions. Divergent interests have emerged to distort the actual meaning of empowerment. I have labelled this tension a ‘dichotomous factionalism’. The struggle and conflict is caught up between beneficiaries themselves, and their disunity has left the hegemony of the farm’s management unchallenged. I argue that, their empowerment is firstly condemned from within and this internal condemnation limits their negotiating power with the management. Secondly, their empowerment is curtailed by the farm’s management in such as way that it sometimes uses its majority shares to justify unilateral decision making. According to Kabeer, empowerment ought to encompass egalitarian decision making. Respondents have reported this is not always being the case at Bambanani. One group of participants complained about how things have remained the same on the farm despite the acquisition of LRAD shares to co-own the farm. Another group which is mostly comprised by trust members argued that things have changed for the better compared to the period prior to the attainment of these equity shares. In doing so, this group blames the discontent group for the lack of commitment to the project and for being after money over the interest of the project. The discontent group has also complained that the trust is not representing their interests to the management, and whenever they lay complaints there are often threats of expulsion. Apart from the above mentioned conflict of interests amongst Bambanani beneficiaries, positive elements were also discovered where beneficiaries agreed on some areas of dissatisfaction. I have labelled this a Collective Discontent Spectacle. The plight of beneficiaries is caused by the lack of adequate exposure to the business side of the farm’s operation and the lack of delivery on houses which were promised to them by the management as part of the shareholding package. Having considered the Bambanani case and other literature on LRAD, I concluded that LRAD has failed to fulfil empowerment requirements as per Kabeer’s model.