Work · Political Philosophy & Ethics (20th–21st c.)
Justice and the Politics of Difference
Five faces of oppression – exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, violence – and a critique of the distributive paradigm.
Introduction
Iris Marion Young’s book of 1990 challenges the “distributive paradigm” of theories such as Rawls’s, which treat justice mainly as the fair distribution of goods. Young argues that this misses domination and oppression, which concern decision-making, the division of labour and culture rather than shares of resources. She distinguishes five faces of oppression and defends a politics of difference: group differences should be recognised rather than dissolved in an ideal of impartial citizenship, and oppressed groups should have means of special representation. The final chapters apply this to affirmative action, the meritocratic idea of merit and the city, which she offers as a model of living together with strangers.
Connections
Criticizes
- A Theory of Justice1971 · John Rawls
More works by Iris Marion Young
Appears in
- Journey ‘What Is Just?’ · Stop 9 of 10
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