The Right to Higher Education and Political Authority

Abstract

This chapter provides an account of the nature and scope of political authority over higher education. The account sets out a proactive role for the state the autonomous flourishing of adults. It affirms the idea that the liberal state’s educational obligations to citizens extend beyond a basic or compulsory education, not only for reasons of political justice, but also because it is politically legitimate for the state to do so. The chapter defends this account against the concern that such authority is too paternalistic, and gives examples of how this conception of authority would apply (and not apply) to higher education.

Fairness, autonomy, and a right to higher education

“… 4. Compare Cohen’s (1989: 913–914) discussion of expensive-tastes objections. I agree with Martin (2022: 209) that the canonical formulations of expensive-tastes concerns raise distracting issues; my case, I hope, gets at the underlying concerns about unfairness. …”

Democratic equality and higher education: Moving from access to completion

“…Egalitarian theories of justice, for example, may provide a theoretical foundation for mandatory measures aimed at neutralizing background conditions. Endorsing an autonomy‐supporting right to higher education, as proposed by Christopher Martin (2022) might also entail adopting measures to ensure that all citizens are able to complete their chosen course of studies. These possible arguments would need to be developed in more detail, a task we leave for another day.…”

“…Obviously, higher education is valuable, not only because it creates the conditions for DE, or because of the vocational and economic benefits it creates for individuals. Higher education also has an important role in supporting the autonomy of individuals “by making available the knowledge, understanding and skills that enable individuals to access valuable social forms and practices” (Martin, 2022, p. 125); however, in our current unequal societies, this intrinsic value is also unequally distributed.…”

“…Similarly, from the other direction, although universities play a stratifying role in our society, we can imagine different designs of higher education in which they do not, even assuming an unjust society (Martin, 2022). In such a society, higher education institutions might not have the same role in terms of DE.…”

“…College completion for underrepresented minorities is crucial for DE, and the practices required to ensure it are justified for that reason, rather than because they are beneficial for any specific individual. So while mandatory academic supports can be justified in certain cases by appealing to individuals' well‐being or autonomy (e.g., Martin, 2022), these conditions need not materialize when the interventions are needed to promote DE.…”