Elizabeth Anderson: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Relationship of Freedom and Equality

Elizabeth Anderson, a professor of Philosophy and of Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, explores two different objections to slavery. One identifies the injustice of slavery as subjection to the arbitrary will of another. Another identifies it with deprivation of the fruits of one's labor. The first preserves a deep unity between freedom and equality. The second has been turned against egalitarians. This lecture will reconsiders the questions raised in post-emancipation societies and how the freed people themselves answered them.

Each year the Center brings to Stanford a notable scholar to deliver a set of lectures, endowed by the late Robert Wesson, a political scientist and Hoover Institute Fellow, pertaining to problems in democratic theory and practice. Dr. Wesson hoped that these lectures would help students, scholars, and community members think through important public issues related to democratic governance.

Watch other Wesson Lecture videos here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...


The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society is committed to bringing ethical reflection to bear on important social problems through research, teaching, and engagement. Visit the Center's website for more information: http://ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu

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