“The Pecking Order: Social Hierarchy as a Philosophical Problem” by Niko Kolodny: A Book Symposium with the author

The Pecking Order: Social Hierarchy as a Philosophical Problem
(2023) Harvard University Press

Niko Kolodny argues that, to a far greater extent than we recognize, our political thinking is driven by a concern to avoid relations of inferiority. In order to make sense of the most familiar ideas in our political thought and discourse—the justification of the state, democracy, and rule of law, as well as objections to paternalism and corruption—we cannot merely appeal to freedom, as libertarians do, or to distributive fairness, as liberals do. We must instead appeal directly to claims against inferiority— to the conviction that no one should stand above or below.

The problem of justifying the state, for example, is often billed as the problem of reconciling the state with the freedom of the individual. Yet, Kolodny argues, once we press hard enough on worries about the state’s encroachment on the individual, we end up in opposition not to unfreedom but to social hierarchy. To make his case, Kolodny takes inspiration from two recent trends in philosophical thought: on the one hand, the revival of the republican and Kantian traditions, with their focus on domination and dependence; on the other, relational egalitarianism, with its focus on the effects of the distribution of income and wealth on our social relations.

The Pecking Order offers a detailed account of relations of inferiority in terms of objectionable asymmetries of power, authority, and regard. Breaking new ground, Kolodny looks ahead to specific kinds of democratic institutions that could safeguard against such relations.

9h30-10h15 Presentation of the book by the author – Niko KOLODNY (University of California, Berkeley)
10h15-11h00 Discussion #1: Relations of Inferiority and Structural Domination – Elena ICARDI (CEPS)

11h00-11h15 coffee break
11h15-12h00 Discussion #2: The Social Fabric of Individuals and Hierarchies: Anthropologies of Social Life and The Critique of Relations of Inferiority – Sofia ALEXANDRATOS (CEPS) 12h00-14h00 Lunch
14h00-14h45 Discussion #3: Social Hierarchies, Democracy, and Political Participation: Examining Kolodny’s Perspective – Giulia BISTAGNINO (University of Milan)
14h45-15h30 Discussion #4: Are The “Pathologies of Democracy” Social Pathologies? – Just SERRANO-ZAMORA (University of Barcelona)
15h30-16h00 coffee break
16h00-17h00 Roundtable: Sofia ALEXANDRATOS (CEPS), Devon CASS (Nova Institute of Philosophy), Elena ICARDI (CEPS), Manuel SÀ VALENTE (CEPS), Pedro SILVA (CEPS) & Hugo RAJÃO (CEPS)