Poverty and Waldron’s Ideas

WORD LIMIT: 1200 words

An op-ed is a short, persuasive piece of writing where an author expresses their opinion on a particular subject that is relevant to the public and tries to persuade the audience of their view. Op-eds contains a clear opinion or point of view and gives reasons for why this opinion is correct. They are more personal than academic papers and make no attempt to be impartial or objective; writers are speaking in their own voice, explaining their own views. Op-eds are written for a general audience, but one that already has some familiarity or interest in the topic you’re writing about.

For this assignment, you are being asked to write a philosophically-informed op-ed about a social or political topic of interest to you. The goal of this assignment is to bring a philosophical perspective to bear on a discussion of public concern.

Format
1. Briefly introduce the topic, making clear its relevance or importance
2. State clearly the point or message you are trying to convey in your op-ed
3. Pick one philosophical idea and explain it clearly and precisely. Explain how this will help us to understand the issue, clarifies a position, addresses an objection, etc. Use the philosophical idea to persuade the reader of your view.
a. You can use anything we’ve read in this class except for “White Fragility” (this was not written by a philosopher)
4. Make an argument for your position, drawing on the philosophical idea
5. If you have space: raise and address an objection to your view
6. Tie everything together in a conclusion

I picked the topic on “Poverty” and will use Waldron’s article on homelessness and freedom to back up my argument. Please utilize the source into the essay and other sources if necessary.