Telephone: +44(0)29 2087 5600
Fax: +44(0)29 2087 4946
Location: Room 2.26, 65-68 Park Place
Balancing Choice and Circumstance – Fair Shares and Just Access in Liberal Justice
My research is centered on conceptions of distributive justice and the practices through which these ideas are institutionalized in States. This broader interest has led to my specific research on theoretical issues of ability, handicap and obligation in theories of distributive justice, particularly the treatment of handicaps and disabilities within States, systems of political economy and basic income solutions. These interests are reflected in my thesis dissertation entitled, Balancing Choice and Circumstance – Fair Shares and Just Access in Liberal Justice, which examines and subsequently critiques the conception of liberal justice presented by Philippe Van Parijs within his arguments for an unconditional basic income system. I argue that in developing the liberal argument, there are some apparent issues particularly surrounding the fair distribution of resources and the potentially valid actions of moral agency of the handicapped, which require us to make specific developments to the liberal argument. These developments are an important nuance to add to the debate about liberal justice and they can led us, more naturally than it first appears, towards systems like those proposed by Van Parijs in some amended sense. I successfully passed my Viva Examination on September 14th, 2010.
One of the core ideas of this thesis will be scaled up into my first book, the Principle of Just Access, which I argue develops liberal justice in order to properly conceptualize the individual agency of the handicapped. I am presently drafting the introduction and conclusion for a co-edited volume I am producing on comparative approaches to basic income. Dr. Carole Pateman (UCLA & APSA President) and I are co-editing this volume that will catalog various systems of basic income being implemented around the world. The volume is scheduled to appear in the International Political Economy Series produced by Palgrave MacMillan. I presently reside in the United States and I am seeking employment. Please feel free to contact me for a copy of my CV.
(all peer reviewed)
Murray, Matthew; "Politics, Vision and Democracy: Access Equality for the Visually Impaired"; Glimpse Journal; Issue 1 – “Is the Visual Political”; Volume 1; pgs. 16-23; November 2008; Institute for the Future of Human Thought (publisher); Cambridge, Massachusetts / Oxford; 2008.
Pateman, Carole & Murray, Matthew (Editors); Horizons of Reform – Basic Income Solutions around the World; International Political Economy Series (IPE); Palgrave MacMillan; (Late Summer/Autumn 2011 release)
Murray, Matthew; “Is Basic Income Bad for the Handicapped”
Works in Progress
Murray, Matthew & George, Sarah; “Mutual Advantage Revisited: A Response to Nussbaum”;. (Winter Submission)
Murray, Matthew; A Principle of Just Access – Developing Liberal Justice for the Handicapped; (Summer 2011 proposal submission)
My research interests are diverse but the major concentration of my research at the moment is on the variations in conceptions of distributive justice. I am particularly interested in criticisms of Political Liberalism and the development of the liberal argument. A great deal of my research and writing has been focused on the particular Left Libertarianism of Philippe Van Parijs and its critics in relation to the commitment drawn from it for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) state. I am writing extensively on the moral reasoning and implications (domestically and internationally) of such a state, as well as potential amendments to its envisaged institutionalization. I intend to continue to contribute to the ethical and institutional debate and development of Basic Income systems as a reform for States. My research focus going forward will be on developing the idea of a Principle of Just Access and the role this must play in developed accounts of Liberal Justice. I believe this is an important development in our theoretical understanding and has massive implications for how we consider institutions and commitments to the handicapped in our society.
But my interests are not entirely in these realms. I am actively interested in American Politics having concentrated in this field as an undergraduate. In particular I still actively follow and research American Governance (Domestic Theory and Structure/Procedure) as well as American Foreign Policy. I have written in this field, particularly in areas where American Public Policy is being applied to groups of handicapped individuals. More passively, I take interest in Media Theory, as a former operator of a media outlet and advocate for independent public media, Sociological Theory, as a member of Alpha Kappa Delta, and lastly in the Philosophy of Language / Linguistics simply because I find it interesting. I am also an active advocate for the political and moral equality of the handicapped and intend to contribute to the discussion of justice and the disabled.
Bachelor of Arts - Class of 2002 - Wheaton College - Norton, MA
Major - Political Science, Minor Sociology
MSc Econ Political Theory (Research Track) - Class of 2007 - Cardiff University - Cardiff, Wales, UK
Dissertation - "The Commitment to Freedom"
2001 - Elizabeth Chapin Leadership Award Winner (Wheaton College)
Associate Lecturer of Introduction to Political Thought for Cardiff University School of European Studies, 2008-present.
Associate Lecturer of Introduction to International Relations for University of Glamorgan, 2008 – 2009.
“Basic Income – Approaches, Experiments and Developments Around the World” - Panel, “Basic Income Solutions and Capabilities” – Paper; International Political Science Association World Congress 2009, Santiago Chile, July 2009.
“Basic Income and Individual Independence” Panel, Moderator, Basic Income Earth Network Conference, University of College Dublin, Ireland, June 2008.