Public policies are often proposed and implemented for the purpose of improving the human condition. Proponents of policy interventions might hope to promote human welfare; to increase liberty or freedom; to advance justice or equality, or to protect democracy. But these high-level values – welfare, liberty, justice, equality, democracy, and others – are contested and admit of different interpretations. We might all agree that “improving the human condition” is a good thing – and that the values of welfare, liberty, justice, equality, and democracy should be promoted. But there are rational disagreements about what these values really mean. Philosophers, political theorists, and others have been examining and debating these values, and their different interpretations, for centuries. The premise of this course is these debates matter – not just for academic philosophy, but for public policy. We will examine some of the main interpretations of these values, and the various arguments that have been provided for and against them. And we will consider how these different interpretations relate to public policy. The aim of this course is not to promote any particular conception of any of these values – e.g., to identify the “one true theory of justice” – but rather to help students understand their different interpretations and how they relate to public policy, especially public policies that of special interest to them.