Soci 124: The Good Society

University of California-San Diego
Spring 2025-26
MWF 4:00-4:50, RWAC 103

Lane Kenworthy
Office hours: https://ucsd.zoom.us/my/lanekenworthy, Wednesdays 9:30-11:30am and by appointment
Email: lkenworthy@ucsd.edu

Teaching Assistant: Eunchong Cho
Office hours: https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/93885843764, Tuesdays 10:30-12:30
Email: e3cho@ucsd.edu

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COURSE DESCRIPTION AND SCHEDULE

This course examines the history and performance of key policies and institutions in the United States and other rich democratic countries, with an emphasis on the following questions:

  • What institutions and policies are most conducive to human flourishing?
  • To what extent are there tradeoffs? For instance, can policies and institutions reduce poverty only by restricting liberty?
  • Are there grounds for thinking that institutions or policies not yet tried would do better than the best ones currently in existence?

Here are the topics we’ll cover. The full schedule is in Canvas.

  • Week 1. Module 1: Life in the good society
  • Week 1. Module 2: Affluence
  • Week 2. Module 3: Liberalism
  • Week 2. Module 4: Social democratic capitalism
  • Week 3. Module 5: Cities
  • Week 3. Module 6: Social democratic America
  • Week 4. Module 7: Will the Nordic model work in non-Nordic countries?
  • Week 4. Module 8: Should inequality reduction be a top priority?
  • Week 5. Module 9: Can we have a good society without strong labor unions?
  • Week 5. Module 10: Why Keynesianism matters
  • Week 6. Module 11: Should we have a universal basic income?
  • Week 6. Module 12: Will government steering boost economic growth?
  • Week 7. Module 13: Big business and competition
  • Week 7. Module 14: Does capitalist finance do more harm than good?
  • Week 8. Module 15: Would more public ownership be better?
  • Week 8. Module 16: Single-payer healthcare
  • Week 9. Module 17: Does a capitalist economy permit truly democratic politics?
  • Week 9. Module 18: Do we want economic democracy?
  • Week 10. Module 19: The outward-looking good society
  • Week 10. Module 20: Does modern capitalism inhibit community?

Requirements:

  • Twice a week, in weeks 2-10, you’ll take an in-class quiz.
  • Once a week, in weeks 3-5 and 7-9, you’ll write a comment on the course materials for that week and post it to a discussion board on Canvas. These are due at 11:59pm on Thursdays. You will also respond to the comments of two other students; these responses are due at 11:59pm on Sundays.
  • There are two open-note take-home essay exams, one in week 6 and the other in week 11.

Materials:

  • All required readings are from a digital textbook: Lane Kenworthy, The Good Society. It’s online and free. Direct links to the readings are in Canvas.
  • You’ll need an iClicker remote for the in-class quizzes (see below).

Here’s what you should get from this course:

  • Substantive knowledge. The course aims to improve your understanding of the topics we cover.
  • Approaching issues scientifically (this is often called “critical thinking”). This means examining evidence and reasoning from that evidence rather than relying solely on theory, ethical beliefs, or anecdotes. Social science often is similar to detective work, with the social scientist more like Sherlock Holmes than like a chemist in a lab. Seldom is the story simple, and rarely do we have the exact evidence we would need in order to be strongly confident about our conclusion. So we use various types of data, and we may deploy a mixture of analytical methods. We ask: “What would we expect to observe if a particular hypothesis were true? Is that what we in fact observe? If so or if not, what does that tell us about the answer to our question?” Then we piece together a conclusion from multiple imperfect and incomplete bits of evidence. For each reading, video, or podcast, focus on the question(s) being posed, the answer(s) given, the key pieces of evidence, and the way the author reasons in reaching a conclusion.
  • Good argument. The course is designed to improve your ability to develop and convey effective argument. Keys include focusing on a specific question, formulating a clear proposal or position, making use of relevant evidence, addressing potential objections and counterarguments, and communicating clearly.
  • Written communication. Good writing usually comes from two things. The first is clear thinking. But writing isn’t just a way to express what you’re thinking; it’s a way to clarify your thinking. Don’t wait until you have it all figured out before beginning to write. Start writing; doing so will help you develop your thoughts. The second key is extensive editing. Write a draft. Then edit it. Then edit it again. And again. (For a helpful guide to good writing, see this.) If you struggle with writing, you’re like virtually everyone else. The course aims to help you improve, by practicing.
  • Concision. Information and opinion are plentiful these days, so brevity is a valuable skill. The writing assignments for the course are short, so you’ll need to focus on the information and argument that is most relevant or useful.
  • Comfort with quantitative data. A generation ago there was a scarcity of numerical data. Now we have an abundance: data are everywhere. That’s a good thing, because data are key to answering important questions about society. You will encounter lots of quantitative data in this course, often in graphical form. If you aren’t already comfortable interpreting such data and reasoning from them, by the end of the course you should be.

GRADING

Course grades will be determined as follows. See below for details.

  • 35%: in-class quizzes
  • 35%: discussion board comments and responses
  • 15%: exam 1
  • 15%: exam 2

Each of these will be graded on a scale of 0 to 100. So your numerical course grade is calculated as: (in-class quizzes grade x .35) + (discussion boards grade x .35) + (exam 1 grade x .15) + (exam 2 grade x .15).

Your letter grade for the course will be determined as follows:

  • 96.67 to 100 = A+
  • 93.34 to 96.66 = A
  • 90 to 93.33 = A–
  • 86.67 to 89.99 = B+
  • 83.34 to 86.66 = B
  • 80 to 83.33 = B–
  • 76.67 to 79.99 = C+
  • 73.34 to 76.66 = C
  • 70 to 73.33 = C–
  • 60 to 69.99 = D
  • below 60 = F

There will be no extra-credit projects or assignments.

NO SCREENS OR HEADPHONES IN CLASS

No laptops, tablets, phones, headphones, or airpods in the classroom. The best available evidence suggests that college students tend to learn more when not using electronics during class (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). If you want to take notes, use pen and paper. If you need an exception to this policy, please see me.

IN-CLASS QUIZZES

In weeks 2-10, you’ll take a quiz in class every Monday and Wednesday. These will consist of multiple choice and true/false questions on the course materials for that day’s module.

You’ll need an iClicker remote (not your phone):

  • You can purchase an iClicker remote — new or used — at the campus bookstore or online. Or you can borrow one from a friend.
  • Register your remote for this class at https://join.iclicker.com/NCZS. When registering, use your UCSD email address and be sure to enter your remote’s ID. If you need help with registration, instructions are here.
  • For technical support with iClickers, contact EdTech Support. Their iClicker FAQ page has answers to most questions.
  • The base station frequency in our classroom is BB. To set your remote to this frequency at the start of class, turn on your remote, then press and hold the power button for 3 seconds. When the frequency on the remote display starts to blink, press “B” then “B.”

Bring your iClicker remote to class each day. You also can bring a printout of the reading and/or notes you’ve taken on the reading, and you can consult these during the quiz.

Reasons for an excused missed quiz: (1) holidays or special events observed by organized religions (for students who show affiliation with that particular religion), (2) absences pre-approved by the UCSD Dean of Students (or Dean’s designee), (3) extended illness (this requires a doctor’s note). I’ll need written verification of the circumstances.

There will be 17 quizzes. Only your 13 highest grades will count.

DISCUSSION BOARDS

In weeks 3-5 and 7-9, you’ll write a comment on assigned readings/videos and post it to a discussion board on Canvas. These are due by 11:59pm on Thursdays. You will also write brief responses to the comments of two other students. The responses are due by 11:59pm on Sundays. You have to post your own comment before you’re allowed to see the comments posted by other students.

Comments should address something in the course materials for that week, should engage with evidence, and should be written well. Here are a few examples, just to give you a feel. You don’t need to follow these examples; this is just to give you some ideas in case you aren’t sure what is expected.

  • The conclusion in section 3 of the “…” reading this week was interesting, but I wasn’t convinced, because it didn’t consider….
  • The optional reading for this week says that Figure 3 supports gun control. But it seems to me that’s wrong because….
  • In the video, the narrator argues that women’s freedom increased because more were entering paid work. If that were true, I think we’d expect to see …, but there’s no mention of this.
  • The textbook reading shows that the pattern across countries supports the hypothesis that weak labor unions are a key cause of rising income inequality in the United States, but in another class I took we learned that….
  • I gave ChatGPT the following prompt: “….” It answered: “….” This contradicts paragraph 7 of the required course reading. I suspect the ChatGPT answer is more likely correct because….

You’re allowed to use a generative AI tool such as ChatGPT. You must say what your prompt was. And like any other source from which you borrow evidence, reasoning, conclusions, or arguments, you’re not allowed to use (part or all of) its answer as though it’s your own.

If you have the Canvas app, you can post your comment and responses using your phone. But don’t write as though you’re texting or tweeting. Write real sentences and use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

There isn’t a strict word limit, but I encourage you to keep your comments under 500 words.

Grading for each discussion board comment and responses:

  • 100: comment and two responses submitted, excellent quality, well written, comment includes evidence
  • 95: comment and two responses submitted, very good quality, well written, comment includes evidence
  • 85: comment and two responses submitted, good quality, well written, comment includes evidence
  • 70: comment and two responses submitted but low quality or poorly written or comment doesn’t include evidence
  • 60: comment submitted but only one response
  • 50: comment submitted but no responses
  • 0: no comment submitted

There will be 6 discussion boards. Only your 5 highest grades will count.

EXAMS

Each exam will have one question. The question will be posted on Canvas one week before your answer is due.

The exams are open-note open-computer.

You should draw on the course materials. You can also use outside sources if you wish, but that isn’t required.

You’re allowed to use a generative AI tool such as ChatGPT. You must say what your prompt was (you can put this in a footnote). And like any other source from which you borrow evidence, reasoning, conclusions, or arguments, you’re not allowed to use (part or all of) its answer as though it’s your own.

Grading will be based on the following:

  • Answer the question.
  • Refer to relevant evidence.
  • Address potential objections. What would a critic say are the weak points in your case? How do you respond?
  • Use footnotes (not a reference list or bibliography) to give credit to anyone or anything from whom you borrow evidence or argument. I’m not picky about the formatting of the footnotes, but include the author(s), title, and year rather than just an internet address.
  • Write clearly. Use proper grammar and punctuation (“I,” “me,” and contractions are fine).
  • Length: No more than 1,000 words (excluding footnotes, charts, and tables).
  • Formatting: Include your name and the word count on the first page. Use single-space, 12-point font size, 1-inch top and bottom margins and 2-inch side margins.

If you need help with writing, consider seeking assistance from the UC San Diego Writing Hub.

The due dates are listed in Canvas. An exam turned in late but within 48 hours of the deadline will be penalized 25 points (out of 100). An exam turned in more than 48 hours late, or not turned in at all, will receive a grade of zero.

Upload your exam answer on Canvas. Emailed or hard copy exam answers won’t be accepted.

Submit your answer as a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx) or pdf.

Don’t plagiarize. If you aren’t sure what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it, see the UC San Diego Library’s guide to preventing plagiarism.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to UC San Diego academic integrity policy.

That policy includes the following statement: “No student shall employ aids (including artificial intelligence) in undertaking course work or in completing any assessments that are not authorized by the instructor.” In this course the use of artificial intelligence is authorized for discussion board comments and for the two exams. See the “Discussion boards” and “Exams” sections above for details.

SPECIAL NEEDS AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Students who need special accommodation or services should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). You must register and request that the OSD send me official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please meet with me to discuss accommodations and how the course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Information here, other than the grade and attendance policy, may be subject to change with advance notice as deemed appropriate by the instructor.