Dr Sarah Goff

This course is available on the MSc in Gender, MSc in Gender, Development and Globalisation, MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities, MSc in Human Rights, MSc in Human Rights and Politics, MSc in Inequalities and Social Science and MSc in Political Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: To apply for a place on this course, please submit a short statement of no more than 200 words via LfY. Your statement should outline your reasons for applying and explain how the course will support your academic and/or career goals. If applicable, you should also demonstrate how you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide. If the course is compulsory for your programme, no written statement is required.

Priority for places on Government (GV) courses will be given first to students for whom the course is compulsory. Where applicable, priority will then be given to students on the Department of Government programmes listed in the ‘Availability’ section of the course guide, followed by students on other programmes listed in that section. Students on all other programmes will be considered next, where a course is available as an outside option. You should ensure that you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide before applying. Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed. Where a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated based on programme priority and the written statement.

Deadline for applications: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 25 September 2026. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 28 September 2026. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.

For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and demand is typically high. Priority is given to students in the MSc Political Theory programme, and students from outside this programme may not get a place.

This course is capped at 2 groups.

This is a course in contemporary political theory. It starts with the general question of why (or if) equality matters. It then introduces some of the major debates in the contemporary literature on equality. These debates include: the appropriate metric for making comparisons between persons; the difference between equality, priority, and sufficiency; and the relationship between equality and justice. Throughout the course, and particularly in the latter half, we consider concrete social problems and dilemmas faced by those who are committed to the ideal of equality.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Essay (1500 words).

Students will submit a short formative essay in the Winter Term (up to 1,500 words) and will be given feedback on this before submitting their assessed coursework.

Samantha Brennan, 'Feminist Ethics and Everyday Inequalities' Hypatia 24, 2009; Derek Parfit, 'Equality and Priority' Ratio 10, 1997; Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality (Harvard University Press, 2000); Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (Oxford University Press, 1999); Elizabeth Anderson, 'What is the Point of Equality?' Ethics 109, 1999; Harry Frankfurt, ‘The Moral Irrelevance of Equality’ Public Affairs Quarterly (2000); and Deborah Hellman, When is Discrimination Wrong? (Harvard University Press, 2011).

Essay (100%, 4500 words) in Spring Term Week 2.