Andrew Dobson (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294894
- eISBN:
- 9780191599064
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294891.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Contributors to this edited book consider the normative issues at stake in the relationship between environmental sustainability and social justice. If future generations are owed justice, what ...
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Contributors to this edited book consider the normative issues at stake in the relationship between environmental sustainability and social justice. If future generations are owed justice, what should we bequeath them? Is ‘sustainability’ an appropriate medium for environmentalists to express their demands? Is environmental protection compatible with justice within generations? Is environmental sustainability a luxury when social peace has broken down? The contested nature of sustainable development is considered––is it a useful concept at all any longer? Is it reconcilable with capital accumulation? Liberal––particularly Rawlsian––and socialist notions of justice are tested against the demands of sustainability, and policy instruments for sustainability––such as environmental taxation––are examined for their distributive effects.Less
Contributors to this edited book consider the normative issues at stake in the relationship between environmental sustainability and social justice. If future generations are owed justice, what should we bequeath them? Is ‘sustainability’ an appropriate medium for environmentalists to express their demands? Is environmental protection compatible with justice within generations? Is environmental sustainability a luxury when social peace has broken down? The contested nature of sustainable development is considered––is it a useful concept at all any longer? Is it reconcilable with capital accumulation? Liberal––particularly Rawlsian––and socialist notions of justice are tested against the demands of sustainability, and policy instruments for sustainability––such as environmental taxation––are examined for their distributive effects.
Andrew Dobson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294955
- eISBN:
- 9780191599071
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294956.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Environmental sustainability and social, or distributive, justice are both widely regarded as desirable social objectives. But can we assume that they are compatible with each other? This book ...
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Environmental sustainability and social, or distributive, justice are both widely regarded as desirable social objectives. But can we assume that they are compatible with each other? This book analyses the complex relationship between these two pressing objectives. Environmental sustainability is taken to be a contested idea, and three distinct conceptions of it are explored and described. These conceptions are then examined in the context of fundamental distributive questions. Among whom or what should distribution take place? What should be distributed? What should the principle of distribution be? The book contains a critical examination of the claims of the ‘environmental‐justice’ and ‘sustainable‐development’ movements that social justice and environmental sustainability are points on the same virtuous circle, and suggests that radical environmental demands involving the preservation of ‘nature’ are only incompletely served by couching them in terms of justice. The conclusion is that inter‐generational justice is the context in which distributive and sustainability agendas are most closely aligned.Less
Environmental sustainability and social, or distributive, justice are both widely regarded as desirable social objectives. But can we assume that they are compatible with each other? This book analyses the complex relationship between these two pressing objectives. Environmental sustainability is taken to be a contested idea, and three distinct conceptions of it are explored and described. These conceptions are then examined in the context of fundamental distributive questions. Among whom or what should distribution take place? What should be distributed? What should the principle of distribution be? The book contains a critical examination of the claims of the ‘environmental‐justice’ and ‘sustainable‐development’ movements that social justice and environmental sustainability are points on the same virtuous circle, and suggests that radical environmental demands involving the preservation of ‘nature’ are only incompletely served by couching them in terms of justice. The conclusion is that inter‐generational justice is the context in which distributive and sustainability agendas are most closely aligned.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This book presents a non-cosmopolitan theory of global justice. In contrast to theories that seek to extend principles of social justice, such as equality of opportunity or resources, to the world as ...
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This book presents a non-cosmopolitan theory of global justice. In contrast to theories that seek to extend principles of social justice, such as equality of opportunity or resources, to the world as a whole, it argues that in a world made up of self-determining national communities, a different conception is needed. The book presents and defends an account of national responsibility which entails that nations may justifiably claim the benefits that their decisions and policies produce, while also being held liable for harms that they inflict on other peoples. Such collective responsibility extends to responsibility for the national past, so the present generation may owe redress to those who have been harmed by the actions of their predecessors. Global justice, therefore, must be understood not in terms of equality, but in terms of a minimum set of basic rights that belong to human beings everywhere. Where these rights are being violated or threatened, remedial responsibility may fall on outsiders. The book considers how this responsibility should be allocated, and how far citizens of democratic societies must limit their pursuit of domestic objectives in order to discharge their global obligations.Less
This book presents a non-cosmopolitan theory of global justice. In contrast to theories that seek to extend principles of social justice, such as equality of opportunity or resources, to the world as a whole, it argues that in a world made up of self-determining national communities, a different conception is needed. The book presents and defends an account of national responsibility which entails that nations may justifiably claim the benefits that their decisions and policies produce, while also being held liable for harms that they inflict on other peoples. Such collective responsibility extends to responsibility for the national past, so the present generation may owe redress to those who have been harmed by the actions of their predecessors. Global justice, therefore, must be understood not in terms of equality, but in terms of a minimum set of basic rights that belong to human beings everywhere. Where these rights are being violated or threatened, remedial responsibility may fall on outsiders. The book considers how this responsibility should be allocated, and how far citizens of democratic societies must limit their pursuit of domestic objectives in order to discharge their global obligations.
Harry Brighouse
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257874
- eISBN:
- 9780191598845
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257876.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's ...
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Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's rights include a right to personal autonomy. The book argues that school reform must always be evaluated from the perspective of social justice and applies the theory, in particular, to school choice proposals. It looks at the parental choice schemes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in England and Wales, and argues that they fall short of the requirements of justice, but that not all such schemes must do so. It elaborates an abstract voucher scheme that would combine choice with justice, and offers ways by which actual choice‐based reform can be modified to meet the requirements of justice.Less
Defends a theory of social justice for education from within an egalitarian version of liberalism. The theory involves a strong commitment to educational equality, and to the idea that children's rights include a right to personal autonomy. The book argues that school reform must always be evaluated from the perspective of social justice and applies the theory, in particular, to school choice proposals. It looks at the parental choice schemes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in England and Wales, and argues that they fall short of the requirements of justice, but that not all such schemes must do so. It elaborates an abstract voucher scheme that would combine choice with justice, and offers ways by which actual choice‐based reform can be modified to meet the requirements of justice.
Ian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297009
- eISBN:
- 9780191711428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297009.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to ...
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Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to the international regulation of labour, which resulted in establishment of the International Labour Organization. These developments reflected the activities of the trade union movement, and particularly its Congresses during the war, as well as heightened sensitivity to labour in the context of both the war and the outbreak of the Russian revolution. It is clear that inclusion of a section on labour was sponsored by all of the Big Three powers for various political and instrumental reasons. What was radically new about the structure of the ILO was that it allowed membership from state representatives, but also from business and labour, thereby recognizing world society membership in an otherwise international society forum. The decisive argument was that social justice was properly the business of international society because it was fundamental to achieving international peace.Less
Perhaps the least discussed aspect of the 1919 settlement is its provisions on social justice, and yet an entire section of the Versailles Treaty and an article of the League Covenant were devoted to the international regulation of labour, which resulted in establishment of the International Labour Organization. These developments reflected the activities of the trade union movement, and particularly its Congresses during the war, as well as heightened sensitivity to labour in the context of both the war and the outbreak of the Russian revolution. It is clear that inclusion of a section on labour was sponsored by all of the Big Three powers for various political and instrumental reasons. What was radically new about the structure of the ILO was that it allowed membership from state representatives, but also from business and labour, thereby recognizing world society membership in an otherwise international society forum. The decisive argument was that social justice was properly the business of international society because it was fundamental to achieving international peace.
Frank Lovett
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579419
- eISBN:
- 9780191722837
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579419.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In all societies, past and present, many persons and groups have been subject to domination. Properly understood, domination is a great evil, the suffering of which ought to be minimized as far as ...
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In all societies, past and present, many persons and groups have been subject to domination. Properly understood, domination is a great evil, the suffering of which ought to be minimized as far as possible. Surprisingly, however, political and social theorists have failed to provide a detailed analysis of the concept of domination in general. This study aims to redress this lacuna. It argues first that domination should be understood as a condition experienced by persons or groups to the extent that they are dependent on a social relationship in which some other person or group wields arbitrary power over them; this is termed the “arbitrary power conception” of domination. Second, it argues that we should regard it as wrong to perpetrate or permit unnecessary domination and, thus, that as a matter of justice the political and social institutions and practices of any society should be organized so as to minimize avoidable domination; this is termed “justice as minimizing domination (JMD),” a conception of social justice that connects with more familiar civic republican accounts of freedom as nondomination. In developing these arguments, this study employs a variety of methodological techniques — including conceptual analysis, formal modeling, social theory, and moral philosophy; existing accounts of dependency, power, social convention, and so on are clarified, expanded, or revised along the way. While of special interest to contemporary civic republicans, this study should appeal to a broad audience with diverse methodological and substantive interests.Less
In all societies, past and present, many persons and groups have been subject to domination. Properly understood, domination is a great evil, the suffering of which ought to be minimized as far as possible. Surprisingly, however, political and social theorists have failed to provide a detailed analysis of the concept of domination in general. This study aims to redress this lacuna. It argues first that domination should be understood as a condition experienced by persons or groups to the extent that they are dependent on a social relationship in which some other person or group wields arbitrary power over them; this is termed the “arbitrary power conception” of domination. Second, it argues that we should regard it as wrong to perpetrate or permit unnecessary domination and, thus, that as a matter of justice the political and social institutions and practices of any society should be organized so as to minimize avoidable domination; this is termed “justice as minimizing domination (JMD),” a conception of social justice that connects with more familiar civic republican accounts of freedom as nondomination. In developing these arguments, this study employs a variety of methodological techniques — including conceptual analysis, formal modeling, social theory, and moral philosophy; existing accounts of dependency, power, social convention, and so on are clarified, expanded, or revised along the way. While of special interest to contemporary civic republicans, this study should appeal to a broad audience with diverse methodological and substantive interests.
Andrew Dobson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294955
- eISBN:
- 9780191599071
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294956.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Considers the second conception of environmental sustainability, in which ‘irreversible nature’ (such as species) is the thing to be sustained into the future. In Ch. 5, it was pointed out that ...
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Considers the second conception of environmental sustainability, in which ‘irreversible nature’ (such as species) is the thing to be sustained into the future. In Ch. 5, it was pointed out that social justice and sustainability are at odds over the issue of substitutability, and the same is increasingly true in this new context. In addition, theories of justice that are impartial as to views of the good for humans will probably be incompatible with the ‘irreversible‐nature’ conception of sustainability, as it seems to entail just such a view of the good.Less
Considers the second conception of environmental sustainability, in which ‘irreversible nature’ (such as species) is the thing to be sustained into the future. In Ch. 5, it was pointed out that social justice and sustainability are at odds over the issue of substitutability, and the same is increasingly true in this new context. In addition, theories of justice that are impartial as to views of the good for humans will probably be incompatible with the ‘irreversible‐nature’ conception of sustainability, as it seems to entail just such a view of the good.
Thomas Christiano
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198297475
- eISBN:
- 9780191716867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198297475.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires ...
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This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. In the case of justice as equality, it must not only be the case that people are treated as equals; they must be able to see that they are treated as equals. Hence, social justice requires what is called public equality. It is argued that public equality is grounded on the principle of equality defended in the last chapter and the circumstances of disagreement, diversity, fallibility, and cognitive bias that attend efforts to implement justice in any moderately complex society as well as the fundamental interests of persons in society. This grounds the idea of the egalitarian standpoint from which the justification of political institutions proceeds. That is the first stage of the argument for grounding of democracy on equality.Less
This chapter argues that social justice requires that equality be publicly realized. Social justice is realized in social and political institutions that attempt to establish justice. It requires that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. In the case of justice as equality, it must not only be the case that people are treated as equals; they must be able to see that they are treated as equals. Hence, social justice requires what is called public equality. It is argued that public equality is grounded on the principle of equality defended in the last chapter and the circumstances of disagreement, diversity, fallibility, and cognitive bias that attend efforts to implement justice in any moderately complex society as well as the fundamental interests of persons in society. This grounds the idea of the egalitarian standpoint from which the justification of political institutions proceeds. That is the first stage of the argument for grounding of democracy on equality.
Kok-Chor Tan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588855
- eISBN:
- 9780191738586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These ...
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This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These questions may be referred to, respectively, as the questions of the site, ground, and scope of distributive equality. The book defends an institutional site for egalitarian justice, a luck eglitarian ideal of why equality matters, and the idea that the scope of distributive justice is global. The account of equality proposed in this work may be described as “institutional luck egalitarianism” that is global in scope.Less
This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These questions may be referred to, respectively, as the questions of the site, ground, and scope of distributive equality. The book defends an institutional site for egalitarian justice, a luck eglitarian ideal of why equality matters, and the idea that the scope of distributive justice is global. The account of equality proposed in this work may be described as “institutional luck egalitarianism” that is global in scope.
Richard Crouter
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195379679
- eISBN:
- 9780199869169
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379679.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s ...
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This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.Less
This book is a primer on the political prophet and Christian social ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), who is widely cited for his political realism in the aftermath of George W. Bush’s presidency. His works are on the favorite reading list of Barack Obama. In addition to mapping the “Niebuhr revival” on the political left and right, the book’s seven chapters acquaint readers with the central teachings and ways of thinking behind this fresh interest. The core of Niebuhr’s Christian realism and the role of irony in his thought are made accessible to non-specialists in ways that explain his appeal to secular as well as deeply religious minds. The book begins with an account of the fresh interest in the Protestant thinker and argues for Niebuhr’s sense of history as a prelude to explaining how his view of the human self as sinful and self-preoccupied (individually and in groups) relates to his passion for social justice. Three chapters then examine Niebuhr’s teaching as a preacher and writer with uncommon literary sensitivity, take up his classic 1952 title, The Irony of American History as an expression of his Christian realism, and probe the reasons for his mixed reception in contemporary Christian circles, both popular and academic. A final chapter examines the ways that Niebuhr’s legacy invites levels of self-reflection that judiciously illumine the personal, political, and religious challenges that we face in the contemporary world.
Andrew Dobson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294955
- eISBN:
- 9780191599071
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294956.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Explores the relationship between the first conception of sustainability and distributive justice, and examines the compatibility between them. The key sustainability question is ‘what is to be ...
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Explores the relationship between the first conception of sustainability and distributive justice, and examines the compatibility between them. The key sustainability question is ‘what is to be distributed?’ and the answer in this first case is ‘critical natural capital’. Concludes that compatibility will only ever be contingent, since sustainability is about preserving or conserving natural capital while justice is about distributing it fairly.Less
Explores the relationship between the first conception of sustainability and distributive justice, and examines the compatibility between them. The key sustainability question is ‘what is to be distributed?’ and the answer in this first case is ‘critical natural capital’. Concludes that compatibility will only ever be contingent, since sustainability is about preserving or conserving natural capital while justice is about distributing it fairly.
Melvin Delgado and Lee Staples
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195182767
- eISBN:
- 9780199865192
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182767.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Communities and Organizations, Children and Families
Youth-led organizing, a burgeoning movement that empowers young people while simultaneously enabling them to make substantive contributions to their communities, is increasingly receiving attention ...
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Youth-led organizing, a burgeoning movement that empowers young people while simultaneously enabling them to make substantive contributions to their communities, is increasingly receiving attention from scholars, activists, and the media. This book studies this dynamic field. It takes an important step toward bridging the gap between academic knowledge and community practice in this growing area. The book’s social justice-rooted perspective on the field’s conceptual and practical foundations is an effective basis for analyzing youth-led community organizing, but it also offers glimpses of successful groups in action and helpful insight into how fledgling organizations can become stronger. These groups and their young participants represent the politics and activism of the future, and the book guides to their key aspects and recent developments.Less
Youth-led organizing, a burgeoning movement that empowers young people while simultaneously enabling them to make substantive contributions to their communities, is increasingly receiving attention from scholars, activists, and the media. This book studies this dynamic field. It takes an important step toward bridging the gap between academic knowledge and community practice in this growing area. The book’s social justice-rooted perspective on the field’s conceptual and practical foundations is an effective basis for analyzing youth-led community organizing, but it also offers glimpses of successful groups in action and helpful insight into how fledgling organizations can become stronger. These groups and their young participants represent the politics and activism of the future, and the book guides to their key aspects and recent developments.
Gordon Marshall, Adam Swift, and Stephen Roberts
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198292401
- eISBN:
- 9780191684913
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292401.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in ...
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What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in industrial societies is unequal, there is sharp disagreement about whether this inequality can be justified. Some see existing patterns of social mobility as evidence of inequality of opportunity. Others regard them as meritocratic, simply reflecting the distribution of abilities among the population. This book brings together recent developments in normative thinking about social justice with recent empirical findings about educational attainment and social mobility. The book deals in detail with issues of class and justice.Less
What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in industrial societies is unequal, there is sharp disagreement about whether this inequality can be justified. Some see existing patterns of social mobility as evidence of inequality of opportunity. Others regard them as meritocratic, simply reflecting the distribution of abilities among the population. This book brings together recent developments in normative thinking about social justice with recent empirical findings about educational attainment and social mobility. The book deals in detail with issues of class and justice.
David Harvey
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829509X.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Takes up the issues of social class raised by the environmental justice movement in the US. The discussion begins with the primary issue that has given rise to the movement, namely, the dumping of ...
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Takes up the issues of social class raised by the environmental justice movement in the US. The discussion begins with the primary issue that has given rise to the movement, namely, the dumping of toxic wastes in poor communities or countries. The inhabitants affected are those least able to absorb the resultant dangers to health, and such dumping practices can be seen as both discriminatory and neo‐imperialist. The levels of protest engendered have resulted in US federal government measures to address the issues of environmental justice involved, and the dumping debate can be generalized to a wider and higher level of social justice. On this level, a debate on environmental ethics is unfolding; it is essentially unresolvable because there is no philosophical method of resolving disagreements between different viewpoints regarding the social relations, power imbalances, beliefs, and institutions that underlie the environmental problem. The current rhetoric of environmental justice is not adequate to the task of reconciling competing visions of the rights that it purports to extend. Inability to adjudicate between rival arguments of ‘not in my back yard’ thus produces the unsatisfactory stalemate ‘not in anybody's back yard’. If environmental justice is to be more than an assemblage of particularist postures, some form of embracing socialist plan of action has to be formulated.Less
Takes up the issues of social class raised by the environmental justice movement in the US. The discussion begins with the primary issue that has given rise to the movement, namely, the dumping of toxic wastes in poor communities or countries. The inhabitants affected are those least able to absorb the resultant dangers to health, and such dumping practices can be seen as both discriminatory and neo‐imperialist. The levels of protest engendered have resulted in US federal government measures to address the issues of environmental justice involved, and the dumping debate can be generalized to a wider and higher level of social justice. On this level, a debate on environmental ethics is unfolding; it is essentially unresolvable because there is no philosophical method of resolving disagreements between different viewpoints regarding the social relations, power imbalances, beliefs, and institutions that underlie the environmental problem. The current rhetoric of environmental justice is not adequate to the task of reconciling competing visions of the rights that it purports to extend. Inability to adjudicate between rival arguments of ‘not in my back yard’ thus produces the unsatisfactory stalemate ‘not in anybody's back yard’. If environmental justice is to be more than an assemblage of particularist postures, some form of embracing socialist plan of action has to be formulated.
Andrew Dobson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294955
- eISBN:
- 9780191599071
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294956.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The analytical dimensions of social justice are laid out, driven by different answers to common justice questions. What is the community of justice? What is to be distributed? What is the principle ...
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The analytical dimensions of social justice are laid out, driven by different answers to common justice questions. What is the community of justice? What is to be distributed? What is the principle of distribution? This provides the framework within which the question of the compatibility between social justice and environmental sustainability is explored in the rest of the book.Less
The analytical dimensions of social justice are laid out, driven by different answers to common justice questions. What is the community of justice? What is to be distributed? What is the principle of distribution? This provides the framework within which the question of the compatibility between social justice and environmental sustainability is explored in the rest of the book.
Thomas Pogge
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195136364
- eISBN:
- 9780199867691
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195136364.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book is about the philosopher John Rawls and about his largest body of work in social justice. The book opens with a comprehensive biography of Rawls, which is the result of this book's author's ...
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This book is about the philosopher John Rawls and about his largest body of work in social justice. The book opens with a comprehensive biography of Rawls, which is the result of this book's author's academic and later personal relationship with Rawls. From thereon, it introduces and discusses Rawls's theory of social justice mostly derived from his well-known work, A Theory of Justice. This book provides an introduction to Rawls's writings in political philosophy. It provides exposition on the fundamental ideas of Rawls's theory of justice, and further examines why and how Rawls came to formulate such views. In doing so, misinterpretations of Rawls's views are discussed, elaborations and additional examples are used to clarify, and significant objections as well as possible defenses are raised. It also considers some of the major opponents of Rawls and the main criticisms they have raised against his conception of justice.Less
This book is about the philosopher John Rawls and about his largest body of work in social justice. The book opens with a comprehensive biography of Rawls, which is the result of this book's author's academic and later personal relationship with Rawls. From thereon, it introduces and discusses Rawls's theory of social justice mostly derived from his well-known work, A Theory of Justice. This book provides an introduction to Rawls's writings in political philosophy. It provides exposition on the fundamental ideas of Rawls's theory of justice, and further examines why and how Rawls came to formulate such views. In doing so, misinterpretations of Rawls's views are discussed, elaborations and additional examples are used to clarify, and significant objections as well as possible defenses are raised. It also considers some of the major opponents of Rawls and the main criticisms they have raised against his conception of justice.
Iris Marion Young
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294719
- eISBN:
- 9780191599361
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294719.003.0020
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
Traces the developments in contemporary political theory of the last 20 years in the politicization of the social. Six major trends are analysed. The debate around social justice is a disagreement ...
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Traces the developments in contemporary political theory of the last 20 years in the politicization of the social. Six major trends are analysed. The debate around social justice is a disagreement about the relationship between equality and liberty. Recent democratic theory deals with the question of citizen participation. Feminists have challenged the traditional public–private distinction as well as the universality they regard as male gendered. Post‐modernism reflects on the relationship between political institutions and social power, and conceptualizes political actors as shaped by political processes. New social movements bring previously private issues into the political sphere. Finally, communitarians aim to understand political values from within their specific social and cultural contexts.Less
Traces the developments in contemporary political theory of the last 20 years in the politicization of the social. Six major trends are analysed. The debate around social justice is a disagreement about the relationship between equality and liberty. Recent democratic theory deals with the question of citizen participation. Feminists have challenged the traditional public–private distinction as well as the universality they regard as male gendered. Post‐modernism reflects on the relationship between political institutions and social power, and conceptualizes political actors as shaped by political processes. New social movements bring previously private issues into the political sphere. Finally, communitarians aim to understand political values from within their specific social and cultural contexts.
Andrew Dobson
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294955
- eISBN:
- 9780191599071
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294956.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Establishes that discourses of sustainability and justice may be related in three ways: the environment as something to be distributed; justice as functional for sustainability; ‘justice to the ...
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Establishes that discourses of sustainability and justice may be related in three ways: the environment as something to be distributed; justice as functional for sustainability; ‘justice to the environment’. Eight theses on the relationship between justice and sustainability are developed. Two contrasting approaches to developing an overarching theory of justice that will be compatible with as many conceptions of environmental sustainability as possible are discussed: Peter Wenz's ‘concentric circles’ and Bryan Norton's ‘intergenerationalism’. A modified version of the latter is regarded as the best way of bringing social justice and environmental sustainability into discursive compatibility.Less
Establishes that discourses of sustainability and justice may be related in three ways: the environment as something to be distributed; justice as functional for sustainability; ‘justice to the environment’. Eight theses on the relationship between justice and sustainability are developed. Two contrasting approaches to developing an overarching theory of justice that will be compatible with as many conceptions of environmental sustainability as possible are discussed: Peter Wenz's ‘concentric circles’ and Bryan Norton's ‘intergenerationalism’. A modified version of the latter is regarded as the best way of bringing social justice and environmental sustainability into discursive compatibility.
Andrew Hurrell
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251209
- eISBN:
- 9780191599293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251207.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide ...
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This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide range of social, political, economic, and technological forces. These developments make a retreat to pluralist state‐based conceptions of international order and justice impossible. Yet the chapter acknowledges, too, that attempts to move towards promoting some conception of global justice are still constrained because these attempts have to be made in the context of a global political order that remains heavily structured around inherited pluralist mechanisms that reflect various types of inequality.Less
This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide range of social, political, economic, and technological forces. These developments make a retreat to pluralist state‐based conceptions of international order and justice impossible. Yet the chapter acknowledges, too, that attempts to move towards promoting some conception of global justice are still constrained because these attempts have to be made in the context of a global political order that remains heavily structured around inherited pluralist mechanisms that reflect various types of inequality.
Ian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199297009
- eISBN:
- 9780191711428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199297009.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The first part of the conclusion summarizes the findings from the historical cases. These fall into four categories. The first is where a strong world society constituency is able to influence the ...
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The first part of the conclusion summarizes the findings from the historical cases. These fall into four categories. The first is where a strong world society constituency is able to influence the policy of a leading state, or group of leading states, as in the case of the slave trade or social justice in 1919. In the second case, the same holds true, but it is actually the leading states that proactively encourage world society action, as with human rights at San Francisco. In the third case, as at The Hague, there was no specific state ‘norm entrepreneur’. Fourthly, there is the negative case where the state sponsor was not strong enough to have the norm accepted, as with Japan and racial equality in 1919. Theoretically, the argument points to a degree of normative assimilation between international and world society, and a corresponding degree of social integration. The relationship is one of complementariness rather than displacement. This develops English School discussions of the topic. However, there is a warning that past coalitions between world society groups and leading states — that seem to have stimulated humanitarian norms — could in the future promote less attractive norms.Less
The first part of the conclusion summarizes the findings from the historical cases. These fall into four categories. The first is where a strong world society constituency is able to influence the policy of a leading state, or group of leading states, as in the case of the slave trade or social justice in 1919. In the second case, the same holds true, but it is actually the leading states that proactively encourage world society action, as with human rights at San Francisco. In the third case, as at The Hague, there was no specific state ‘norm entrepreneur’. Fourthly, there is the negative case where the state sponsor was not strong enough to have the norm accepted, as with Japan and racial equality in 1919. Theoretically, the argument points to a degree of normative assimilation between international and world society, and a corresponding degree of social integration. The relationship is one of complementariness rather than displacement. This develops English School discussions of the topic. However, there is a warning that past coalitions between world society groups and leading states — that seem to have stimulated humanitarian norms — could in the future promote less attractive norms.
