DAVID WIENS

POLITICAL SCIENCE | UC SAN DIEGO

About


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University of California, San Diego
Associate Professor, Political Science
Faculty Affiliate, Philosophy
Co-Editor, Politics, Philosophy, and Economics

My research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of political philosophy, philosophy of social science, and political economy. Most of my current research explicates the ways in which political philosophy and political science are deeply integrated modes of inquiry. I am particularly interested in the role of (formal and informal) models in philosophical and scientific inquiry, and in sorting out what we can learn about the nature and value of justice from models of collective choice, social bargaining, and institutional development.

PhD (2011), Philosophy, University of Michigan
MA (2011), Political Science, University of Michigan
MA (2006), Philosophy, Texas A&M University
BA (2004), Philosophy and History, Brock University

Research


Books.

From The Best To The Rest: Idealistic Thinking in a Non-Ideal World

Peer-reviewed articles.

22. Making Fair Comparisons in Political Theory (with S. Ingham)
21. Against Ideal Guidance, Again: A Reply to Erman and Möller
20. The Stability of the Just Society: Why Fixed Point Theorems Are Beside The Point (with S. Ingham)
19. Devoting Ourselves to the Manifestly Unattainable (with N. Southwood)
18. Demographic Objections to Epistocracy: A Generalization (with S. Ingham)
17. Morals From Rationality Alone? Some Doubts (with J.P. Messina)
16. The General Theory of Second Best Is More General Than You Think
15. The Tyranny of a Metaphor
14. Cosmopolitanism and Competition: Probing the Limits of Egalitarian Justice
13. Will The Real Principles of Justice Please Stand Up?
12. "Actual" Does Not Imply "Feasible" (with N. Southwood)
11. Benefiting from Wrongdoing and Sustaining Wrongful Harm (with C. Barry)
10. Motivational Limitations on the Demands of Justice
9. Assessing Ideal Theories: Lessons from the Theory of Second Best
8. Political Ideals and the Feasibility Frontier
7. Against Ideal Guidance
6. Natural Resources and Government Responsiveness
5. "Going Evaluative" to Save Justice From Feasibility—A Pyrrhic Victory
4. The Political Resource Curse: An Empirical Re-Evaluation (with P. Poast and W.R. Clark)
3. Natural Resources and Institutional Development
2. Demands of Justice, Feasible Alternatives, and the Need for Causal Analysis
1. Prescribing Institutions Without Ideal Theory

Editor-reviewed articles.

2. What Second Best Scenarios Reveal About Ideals of Global Justice (with C. Barry)
1. Achieving Global Justice: Why Failures Matter More Than Ideals

Book reviews.

2. Ben Laurence, Agents of Change
1. Leif Wenar, Blood Oil


Selected work in progress.

Defining 'Democracy': Are We Staying on Topic? (article, with S. Ingham)
Pursuing Social Progress: The Question of Orientation (article, with K. Hankins and R. Muldoon)

Contact


UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Dr
Social Sciences Building 387, #0521
La Jolla, CA 92093-0521

dwiens@ucsd.edu