Political Scientist Spotlights the ‘Shadow of Unfairness’ in Democracy

In his new book The Shadow of Unfairness: A Plebeian Theory of Liberal Democracy, Jeffrey Green, an associate professor of political science, says a person’s socioeconomic status on average determines future opportunities, from education to career advancement.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, Green mixes philosophy, history, social science, and literature to probe the meaning of democracy in contemporary societies permanently tainted by socioeconomic inequality, turning to plebeians of ancient Rome as his muse.

“While the plebeians understood themselves as second-class citizens, they also recognized that part of the meaning of democracy is to identify and regulate the most advantaged, something not commonly done in contemporary liberal democracies but which has an untapped progressive potential,” Green says.

Click here to read the full article.

Arts & Sciences News

University of Pennsylvania, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department Partner to Support Police Leadership Education

The first-of-its-kind graduate degree in the U.S. for police leaders launches this fall at the School of Arts & Sciences.

View Article >
Marisa C. Kozlowski Named Next Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences

Kozlowski, who joined the Penn faculty in 1997, succeeds Mark Trodden, who transitions to the Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences on June 1.

View Article >
One Fourth Year, One Alum Receive 2025 Hertz Fellowship

Eric Tao, C’25, Gr’25 (left), and Suraj Chandran, C’23, were awarded the honor, part of a group of 19 fellows selected this year. Each one receives five years of funding toward a doctoral program.

View Article >
Benjamin Nathans Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction

Nathans, Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Professor of History, won for his book “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement.”

View Article >
Mark Devlin Elected to National Academy of Sciences

He joins three others from Penn to receive the honor this year, all recognized for “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”

View Article >
Michael Jones-Correa and Sophia Rosenfeld Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They join three others from the University of Pennsylvania, selected as part of the Academy’s mission to convene leaders from “every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together.”

View Article >