Union College Political Science and Philosophy Departments, American Studies Program, and The Dean of Bard College Presents

Hudson Valley Political Theory presents:
The Social Costs of the Elite's Work Hours: An Egalitarian Case for Universal Work TIime Regulations

In the United States today,work is increasingly polarized around “good jobs” and “bad jobs”, generally following familiar patterns of social stratification.There is, however, a striking exception to the congruence between labor market polarization and socioeconomic inequality. That is, in the US today, the good jobs of the socially and economically advantaged are often marred by one undesirable feature: long work hours. If people have claims to limits on their work hours, should such claims apply universally, protecting even those workers who are otherwise advantaged? Or should highly-paid professionals be excepted, as they are in the Fair Labor Standards Act?  Recent arguments in political philosophy support an ‘exempt the elite’ position.  On this view, the elite’s long hours are acceptable, even desirable, because they generate tax revenue that can be redistributed to the less advantaged.  I here challenge the position that the elite’s long hours should be welcomed by showing how their long hours generate a range of inegalitarian social costs.  If the elite’s long hours are more detrimental than beneficial to the realization of broadly egalitarian commitments, there is an egalitarian justification for not exempting the elite from work time regulations.

Paper will be pre-circulated.  Contact [email protected] or Pinar Kemerli at [email protected] for the paper.

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The Hudson Valley Political Theory Workshop is a new collaborative project launched by Bard College and Union College.  The workshop aims to bring together political theorists working in or near the Hudson Valley region in a series of workshops to share their work in progress, create new networks, and open up possibilities for new collaborative research projects that further advance humanities.

For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Lippman 100, Union College

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