Joshua Preiss

Joshua Preiss is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and core faculty in the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His research spans moral and political philosophy, applied ethics, and public policy, with a focus on the ethics of work, financial markets, and global economic systems. He investigates how technological change, financialization, and globalization impact worker freedom, social justice, and democratic institutions, advocating for policy reforms that address structural inequality and restore dignity to labor.

In his 2021 book, Just Work for All: The American Dream in the 21st Century, Preiss critiques the shift from a Smithian Well-Ordered Society to a Winner-Take-All economy, arguing for renewed policy commitments to ensure work guarantees a middle-class life. His work has been praised for its interdisciplinary rigor, combining philosophy, economics, and political science to address declining social mobility and rising authoritarianism.

Preiss actively engages public discourse through his Pandemic Ethics podcast and media appearances. He has delivered keynotes, including at the 2024 Cave Hill Philosophy Symposium in Barbados, and his scholarship appears in journals such as European Journal of Political Theory, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Res Publica.