In 1994, she was named Arthur F. Thurnau Professor to recognize her dedication to undergraduate education with a demonstrable impact on the intellectual development and lives of her students.

"[10] Within the article, she harshly criticises luck egalitarianism: a contemporaneously popular view espoused by writers such as Ronald Dworkin.

[11] Anderson's book The Imperative of Integration[12] was winner of the American Philosophical Association's 2011 Joseph B. Gittler Award, for "an outstanding scholarly contribution in the field of the philosophy of one or more of the social sciences.

[15] In a variety of lectures and publications, Anderson has explored the work ethic in terms of its origins and continued influence on culture.

[16][17] Much of her work focuses on American culture and history, but is broadly influenced by, and applicable to European countries which prominently feature shareholder capitalism.

She argues that this was the result of the industrial revolution which split up craftspeople into a capital owning class and an immiserated working-class, or what is considered the precariat in the 21st century.

[16] Anderson goes on to argue that many of the neoliberal arguments are largely rooted in the works of Thomas Robert Malthus and Jeremy Bentham, and not the actual classical liberals.

Anderson provides multiple examples: while conservatives argue against welfare because supposedly handouts cannot bring happiness, this argument is not used against the passive receipt of dividends.

The idea of individual responsibility is often cited as a reason to not help debtors but is rarely leveled against creditors for having issued risky loans, or having already charged a risk premium.