Living on the Edge: Precarity

Jennifer Morton, Professor of Philosophy
University of Pennsylvania

Rapid changes in work, housing, health care, and community have contributed to widespread feelings of instability and insecurity. For many, the future feels precarious. As Hobbes understood, it is times like these when authoritarianism can seem most appealing. Critiquing both authoritarian and liberal solutions, Morton argues that we need a new approach to rebuilding security and stability that moves beyond inequality.

The Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Philosophy at University of Pennsylvania, Morton is the author of Moving Up Without Losing Your Way: The Ethical Costs of Upward Mobility.