David Birks

I’m a lecturer in Political Theory at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, at the University of Hong Kong.

I write on the ethics of paternalism, the punishment of criminal offenders, and whether it is an objectionable use of a state’s resources to provide or subsidise perfectionist goods. These are goods funded with the intention of encouraging citizens to live flourishing lives, or discouraging ways of life that are bad for them.

I’m currently writing a book, under contract with Oxford University Press.

Before moving to Hong Kong in 2019, I was based at the University of Oxford, first as a Junior Research Fellow at Kellogg College, and then as a lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations, at Nuffield College. I was also once a glamorously titled Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.

In 2024, I received the University of Hong Kong’s Social Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award.

Contact: birks [at] hku.hk

9.47, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, Hong Kong