Matthew H. Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
At least since the publication of Isaiah Berlin's famous essay ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ nearly half a century ago, political philosophers have argued vigorously over the relative merits of ...
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At least since the publication of Isaiah Berlin's famous essay ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ nearly half a century ago, political philosophers have argued vigorously over the relative merits of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ accounts of freedom. Matthew Kramer writes squarely within the negative-liberty tradition, but he incorporates a number of ideas that are quite often associated with theories of positive liberty. Much of The Quality of Freedom is devoted to elaborating the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms; however, the book's cardinal objective is to establish the measurability of each person's overall freedom and of each society's aggregate freedom. On the one hand, Kramer contends that the existence of any particular instance of liberty or unfreedom is a matter of fact that can be confirmed or disconfirmed without any reliance on evaluative or normative considerations. On the other hand, he argues that the extent of each person's overall freedom or unfreedom cannot be ascertained entirely in the absence of evaluative assumptions. By combining those two positions and developing them in detail, Kramer pits himself against all positive accounts of liberty and most negative accounts. In the course of so doing, he aims to demonstrate the rigorous measurability of overall liberty – something that many writers on freedom have casually dismissed as impossible. Although Kramer concentrates principally on constructing a systematic analysis of socio-political freedom, he engages critically with the work of many of the leading contemporary writers on the topic.Less
At least since the publication of Isaiah Berlin's famous essay ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ nearly half a century ago, political philosophers have argued vigorously over the relative merits of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ accounts of freedom. Matthew Kramer writes squarely within the negative-liberty tradition, but he incorporates a number of ideas that are quite often associated with theories of positive liberty. Much of The Quality of Freedom is devoted to elaborating the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms; however, the book's cardinal objective is to establish the measurability of each person's overall freedom and of each society's aggregate freedom. On the one hand, Kramer contends that the existence of any particular instance of liberty or unfreedom is a matter of fact that can be confirmed or disconfirmed without any reliance on evaluative or normative considerations. On the other hand, he argues that the extent of each person's overall freedom or unfreedom cannot be ascertained entirely in the absence of evaluative assumptions. By combining those two positions and developing them in detail, Kramer pits himself against all positive accounts of liberty and most negative accounts. In the course of so doing, he aims to demonstrate the rigorous measurability of overall liberty – something that many writers on freedom have casually dismissed as impossible. Although Kramer concentrates principally on constructing a systematic analysis of socio-political freedom, he engages critically with the work of many of the leading contemporary writers on the topic.
H. Matthew Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Presents the two basic principles of my analysis of freedom and unfreedom (the F Postulate and the U Postulate). It then explains the general aspiration of my book: the construction of a theory of ...
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Presents the two basic principles of my analysis of freedom and unfreedom (the F Postulate and the U Postulate). It then explains the general aspiration of my book: the construction of a theory of socio-political freedom that leads to the conclusion that such freedom is measurable in principle. Indicates that the task of measuring each person’s overall freedom includes an evaluative component, but that it is primarily a matter of gauging the extent of each person’s physical latitude.Less
Presents the two basic principles of my analysis of freedom and unfreedom (the F Postulate and the U Postulate). It then explains the general aspiration of my book: the construction of a theory of socio-political freedom that leads to the conclusion that such freedom is measurable in principle. Indicates that the task of measuring each person’s overall freedom includes an evaluative component, but that it is primarily a matter of gauging the extent of each person’s physical latitude.
H. Matthew Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Delineates the principal ideas that make up my theory of freedom as negative liberty. Raises a number of challenges to positive-liberty theories and to the civic-republican conception of freedom, ...
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Delineates the principal ideas that make up my theory of freedom as negative liberty. Raises a number of challenges to positive-liberty theories and to the civic-republican conception of freedom, with sustained criticisms of the work of Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit. It likewise objects to moralized conceptions of particular freedoms and unfreedoms. It pays particular attention to the ways in which such freedoms and unfreedoms exist over time.Less
Delineates the principal ideas that make up my theory of freedom as negative liberty. Raises a number of challenges to positive-liberty theories and to the civic-republican conception of freedom, with sustained criticisms of the work of Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit. It likewise objects to moralized conceptions of particular freedoms and unfreedoms. It pays particular attention to the ways in which such freedoms and unfreedoms exist over time.
H. Matthew Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Begins with a few methodological reflections that expand on some of the observations in the opening chapter. It then tackles a host of difficulties relating to the existence of particular freedoms ...
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Begins with a few methodological reflections that expand on some of the observations in the opening chapter. It then tackles a host of difficulties relating to the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms. Among the topics addressed are the range of the contents of particular freedoms and unfreedoms (i.e. the range of the occurrences and states to which freedoms and unfreedoms can pertain), the counterfactual dimension of liberty (i.e. the fact that each person's freedoms and unfreedoms are determined partly by potential events that could have occurred but that do not actually materialize), the existence of freedoms that pertain to the undergoing of irresistible processes or states, the distinction between the value of doing X and the value of being free to do X, the degree to which doctrines of metaphysical or natural determinism can be reconciled with socio-political liberty, and the freedom-curtailing effects of certain psychological incapacities.Less
Begins with a few methodological reflections that expand on some of the observations in the opening chapter. It then tackles a host of difficulties relating to the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms. Among the topics addressed are the range of the contents of particular freedoms and unfreedoms (i.e. the range of the occurrences and states to which freedoms and unfreedoms can pertain), the counterfactual dimension of liberty (i.e. the fact that each person's freedoms and unfreedoms are determined partly by potential events that could have occurred but that do not actually materialize), the existence of freedoms that pertain to the undergoing of irresistible processes or states, the distinction between the value of doing X and the value of being free to do X, the degree to which doctrines of metaphysical or natural determinism can be reconciled with socio-political liberty, and the freedom-curtailing effects of certain psychological incapacities.
H. Matthew Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The U Postulate, which specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of any particular unfreedom, requires us to distinguish between the constraints on the freedom of any person ...
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The U Postulate, which specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of any particular unfreedom, requires us to distinguish between the constraints on the freedom of any person P that are due partly to other people's actions and the constraints on the freedom of P that are due solely to natural forces and to P's own conduct. One's fleshing out of that basic distinction must consist in the elaboration of criteria that will enable the attribution of causal responsibility for freedom-impairing states of affairs. Those criteria separate unfreedoms from mere inabilities, and thereby significantly influence one's calculations of people's levels of overall liberty. Comes up with a comprehensively applicable test for the ascription of causal responsibility.Less
The U Postulate, which specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of any particular unfreedom, requires us to distinguish between the constraints on the freedom of any person P that are due partly to other people's actions and the constraints on the freedom of P that are due solely to natural forces and to P's own conduct. One's fleshing out of that basic distinction must consist in the elaboration of criteria that will enable the attribution of causal responsibility for freedom-impairing states of affairs. Those criteria separate unfreedoms from mere inabilities, and thereby significantly influence one's calculations of people's levels of overall liberty. Comes up with a comprehensively applicable test for the ascription of causal responsibility.
H. Matthew Kramer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199247561
- eISBN:
- 9780191601927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199247560.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Shifts the focus from particular freedoms and unfreedoms to the enterprise of gauging people's levels of overall liberty. In order to ascertain such a level for each person P, we have to ascertain ...
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Shifts the focus from particular freedoms and unfreedoms to the enterprise of gauging people's levels of overall liberty. In order to ascertain such a level for each person P, we have to ascertain every combination of conjunctively exercisable freedoms that is available to P (in other words, every combination made up of freedoms that can be exercised together by P either simultaneously or sequentially). We likewise have to ascertain every combination of opportunities that are not conjunctively exercisable by P and that lack conjunctive exercisability because of some action(s) by some other person(s). A key portion of the chapter explains how the elements in each combination are to be individuated, so that every combination can be expressed numerically. Moreover, the second half of the chapter argues that the level of anyone's overall liberty is determined in part by evaluative considerations, which can themselves be expressed numerically.Less
Shifts the focus from particular freedoms and unfreedoms to the enterprise of gauging people's levels of overall liberty. In order to ascertain such a level for each person P, we have to ascertain every combination of conjunctively exercisable freedoms that is available to P (in other words, every combination made up of freedoms that can be exercised together by P either simultaneously or sequentially). We likewise have to ascertain every combination of opportunities that are not conjunctively exercisable by P and that lack conjunctive exercisability because of some action(s) by some other person(s). A key portion of the chapter explains how the elements in each combination are to be individuated, so that every combination can be expressed numerically. Moreover, the second half of the chapter argues that the level of anyone's overall liberty is determined in part by evaluative considerations, which can themselves be expressed numerically.
Maurizio Viroli
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151823
- eISBN:
- 9781400840274
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151823.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts ...
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Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts forward. Drawing upon the classical republican conception of liberty, the book shows that a people can be unfree even though they are not oppressed. This condition of unfreedom arises as a consequence of being subject to the arbitrary or enormous power of men like Berlusconi, who presides over Italy with his control of government and the media, immense wealth, and infamous lack of self-restraint. Challenging our most cherished notions about liberty, the book argues that even if a power like Berlusconi's has been established in the most legitimate manner and people are not denied their basic rights, the mere existence of such power makes those subject to it unfree. Most Italians, following the lead of their elites, lack the minimal moral qualities of free people, such as respect for the Constitution, the willingness to obey laws, and the readiness to discharge civic duties. As this book demonstrates, they exhibit instead the characteristics of servility, including flattery, blind devotion to powerful men, an inclination to lie, obsession with appearances, imitation, buffoonery, acquiescence, and docility. Accompanying these traits is a marked arrogance that is apparent among not only politicians but also ordinary citizens.Less
Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts forward. Drawing upon the classical republican conception of liberty, the book shows that a people can be unfree even though they are not oppressed. This condition of unfreedom arises as a consequence of being subject to the arbitrary or enormous power of men like Berlusconi, who presides over Italy with his control of government and the media, immense wealth, and infamous lack of self-restraint. Challenging our most cherished notions about liberty, the book argues that even if a power like Berlusconi's has been established in the most legitimate manner and people are not denied their basic rights, the mere existence of such power makes those subject to it unfree. Most Italians, following the lead of their elites, lack the minimal moral qualities of free people, such as respect for the Constitution, the willingness to obey laws, and the readiness to discharge civic duties. As this book demonstrates, they exhibit instead the characteristics of servility, including flattery, blind devotion to powerful men, an inclination to lie, obsession with appearances, imitation, buffoonery, acquiescence, and docility. Accompanying these traits is a marked arrogance that is apparent among not only politicians but also ordinary citizens.
Paul Cartledge
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263235
- eISBN:
- 9780191734328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263235.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines whether Greek civilization was based on slavery. The silence of classicists on the subject is not surprising. The discussion here is limited to Anglo-American scholarship, in an ...
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This chapter examines whether Greek civilization was based on slavery. The silence of classicists on the subject is not surprising. The discussion here is limited to Anglo-American scholarship, in an attempt to achieve a manageable focus, though a great deal of the last half-century's work on ancient Greek slavery has been written in French and German. Slavery may cover very different types of unfreedom, such as the chattel slave system of Athens and the helotage that was the predominant form of servitude practised by Sparta. Whether slaves, especially chattel slaves, are to be seen principally as living property or as socially dead outsiders evokes further levels of definition, which are also contested.Less
This chapter examines whether Greek civilization was based on slavery. The silence of classicists on the subject is not surprising. The discussion here is limited to Anglo-American scholarship, in an attempt to achieve a manageable focus, though a great deal of the last half-century's work on ancient Greek slavery has been written in French and German. Slavery may cover very different types of unfreedom, such as the chattel slave system of Athens and the helotage that was the predominant form of servitude practised by Sparta. Whether slaves, especially chattel slaves, are to be seen principally as living property or as socially dead outsiders evokes further levels of definition, which are also contested.
V. K. Ramachandran (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198286479
- eISBN:
- 9780191684524
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198286479.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book has dealt with the impact of production conditions and of the material conditions of agricultural labourers in a rural region on the freedom of those agricultural labourers to sell their ...
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This book has dealt with the impact of production conditions and of the material conditions of agricultural labourers in a rural region on the freedom of those agricultural labourers to sell their labour power. It has served to illustrate that India's agrarian development does not guarantee equitable distribution. The system of wage labour in Gokilapuram village and the Cumbum Valley is established and entrenched, and is dominant in most production tasks. Also, unfreedom and the system of labour service have not been consigned to the past; on the contrary, they play an important role in the daily lives of agricultural labourers in production relations.Less
This book has dealt with the impact of production conditions and of the material conditions of agricultural labourers in a rural region on the freedom of those agricultural labourers to sell their labour power. It has served to illustrate that India's agrarian development does not guarantee equitable distribution. The system of wage labour in Gokilapuram village and the Cumbum Valley is established and entrenched, and is dominant in most production tasks. Also, unfreedom and the system of labour service have not been consigned to the past; on the contrary, they play an important role in the daily lives of agricultural labourers in production relations.
V. K. Ramachandran (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198286479
- eISBN:
- 9780191684524
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198286479.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter discusses labour services performed by landless agricultural labourers. It also examines aspects of unfreedom and the relationships between bonded labourers and their employers. The ...
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This chapter discusses labour services performed by landless agricultural labourers. It also examines aspects of unfreedom and the relationships between bonded labourers and their employers. The chapter describes five empirical features of the system of bondage in agriculture: (1) bondage in contemporary Indian agriculture takes the form of bondage to an individual employer or household; (2) the family of the labourer is bonded to a system in which the individual labour is bonded; (3) the majority of the labourers belong to scheduled castes or tribes or to castes that are ranked low in the caste hierarchy; (4) the bonded labourer is most often male; and (5) the proximate cause of bondage in indebtedness.Less
This chapter discusses labour services performed by landless agricultural labourers. It also examines aspects of unfreedom and the relationships between bonded labourers and their employers. The chapter describes five empirical features of the system of bondage in agriculture: (1) bondage in contemporary Indian agriculture takes the form of bondage to an individual employer or household; (2) the family of the labourer is bonded to a system in which the individual labour is bonded; (3) the majority of the labourers belong to scheduled castes or tribes or to castes that are ranked low in the caste hierarchy; (4) the bonded labourer is most often male; and (5) the proximate cause of bondage in indebtedness.
Scott Selisker
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780816699872
- eISBN:
- 9781452955285
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816699872.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
Human Programming is a cultural history of the idea of the programmable mind in U.S. culture. It argues that literary, cinematic, and rhetorical figurations of the programmed mind have shaped ...
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Human Programming is a cultural history of the idea of the programmable mind in U.S. culture. It argues that literary, cinematic, and rhetorical figurations of the programmed mind have shaped conversations in U.S. political and scientific culture about freedom and unfreedom, and about democracy and its enemies from World War II to the War on Terror. Beginning in the early twentieth century, developments in media technology, cybernetics, behaviorist psychology, and sociology made it possible to imagine the malleability of human behavior, or automatism, on a mass scale. Propagandists, scientists, and creative producers alike adapted visions of human programmability in order to imagine the psychological conditions of non-democratic unfreedom, often in the service of representing its opposite, a supposedly exceptional American freedom. As explicitly racist and eugenics-based propaganda fell out of favor after World War II, the enemies of the U.S. were increasingly represented and understood through the figuration of mental unfreedom. Human Programming charts this shift by examining the figure of the “human automaton”: the will-less, automatic, and therefore subhuman figure whose uncanny and sometimes comedic effects drive narratives about human programmability. Rather than attributing either a universal philosophical meaning to automaton narratives or ascribing to them a single symptomatic interpretation, as other readers of this literary figure have done, the book traces how the human automaton developed through a network of exchanges between different forms of discourse in popular culture, the public sphere, and scientific writing.Less
Human Programming is a cultural history of the idea of the programmable mind in U.S. culture. It argues that literary, cinematic, and rhetorical figurations of the programmed mind have shaped conversations in U.S. political and scientific culture about freedom and unfreedom, and about democracy and its enemies from World War II to the War on Terror. Beginning in the early twentieth century, developments in media technology, cybernetics, behaviorist psychology, and sociology made it possible to imagine the malleability of human behavior, or automatism, on a mass scale. Propagandists, scientists, and creative producers alike adapted visions of human programmability in order to imagine the psychological conditions of non-democratic unfreedom, often in the service of representing its opposite, a supposedly exceptional American freedom. As explicitly racist and eugenics-based propaganda fell out of favor after World War II, the enemies of the U.S. were increasingly represented and understood through the figuration of mental unfreedom. Human Programming charts this shift by examining the figure of the “human automaton”: the will-less, automatic, and therefore subhuman figure whose uncanny and sometimes comedic effects drive narratives about human programmability. Rather than attributing either a universal philosophical meaning to automaton narratives or ascribing to them a single symptomatic interpretation, as other readers of this literary figure have done, the book traces how the human automaton developed through a network of exchanges between different forms of discourse in popular culture, the public sphere, and scientific writing.
Thomas J. Donahue
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190051686
- eISBN:
- 9780190051716
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190051686.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It is often said that we live in global systems of injustice. But if so, what are they, and what are their moral consequences? This book offers a theory of global injustice—“Unfreedom for All.” The ...
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It is often said that we live in global systems of injustice. But if so, what are they, and what are their moral consequences? This book offers a theory of global injustice—“Unfreedom for All.” The theory explores and defends the old adage that “No one is free while others are oppressed” by putting five questions: Why and when ought we to combat injustices done to distant others, and does this require joining in solidarity against them? Do we live under global systems of injustice? What counts as systematic injustice or oppression? Who if anyone is made unfree by such injustices? What harms do they do? Unfreedom for All shows that the “No one is free” creed either answers or results from each of these questions. It defends that creed by considering how systematic injustices—such as global severe poverty, male supremacy, or racial oppression—are perpetuated. The book argues that where your society does such an injustice, it systematically suppresses anyone’s resistance to the injustice—including yours. It uses authoritarian tactics against everyone, so you too are subject to arbitrary power. Hence you too are unfree. This holds just as true of systematic injustices done by global society, and this should be the main reason for joining in solidarity against injustice.Less
It is often said that we live in global systems of injustice. But if so, what are they, and what are their moral consequences? This book offers a theory of global injustice—“Unfreedom for All.” The theory explores and defends the old adage that “No one is free while others are oppressed” by putting five questions: Why and when ought we to combat injustices done to distant others, and does this require joining in solidarity against them? Do we live under global systems of injustice? What counts as systematic injustice or oppression? Who if anyone is made unfree by such injustices? What harms do they do? Unfreedom for All shows that the “No one is free” creed either answers or results from each of these questions. It defends that creed by considering how systematic injustices—such as global severe poverty, male supremacy, or racial oppression—are perpetuated. The book argues that where your society does such an injustice, it systematically suppresses anyone’s resistance to the injustice—including yours. It uses authoritarian tactics against everyone, so you too are subject to arbitrary power. Hence you too are unfree. This holds just as true of systematic injustices done by global society, and this should be the main reason for joining in solidarity against injustice.
Thomas J. Donahue-Ochoa
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190051686
- eISBN:
- 9780190051716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190051686.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Chapter 5 mounts the main argument of the book to show that oppression makes everyone unfree. The main ideas are that oppressions are despotic over their victims, that they can endure only if they ...
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Chapter 5 mounts the main argument of the book to show that oppression makes everyone unfree. The main ideas are that oppressions are despotic over their victims, that they can endure only if they try to suppress all actual or potential resistance, that any institutional feature of society that suppresses resistance has established authority, that institutional features with established authority are central social institutions, while suppressing resistance to central social institutions counts as authoritarian tactics used against everyone, that such tactics count as arbitrary power, and that to be subjected to such power is to be subjected to unfreedom of the kind theorized by neo-republicans and Hayekian competitive-order theorists. And since we all have a decent-life interest in freedom from arbitrary power, we are all harmed by such oppression, since it sets back this interest for everyone in society.Less
Chapter 5 mounts the main argument of the book to show that oppression makes everyone unfree. The main ideas are that oppressions are despotic over their victims, that they can endure only if they try to suppress all actual or potential resistance, that any institutional feature of society that suppresses resistance has established authority, that institutional features with established authority are central social institutions, while suppressing resistance to central social institutions counts as authoritarian tactics used against everyone, that such tactics count as arbitrary power, and that to be subjected to such power is to be subjected to unfreedom of the kind theorized by neo-republicans and Hayekian competitive-order theorists. And since we all have a decent-life interest in freedom from arbitrary power, we are all harmed by such oppression, since it sets back this interest for everyone in society.
Cynthia J. Neville
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748639588
- eISBN:
- 9780748653492
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639588.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Scottish Studies
This chapter evaluates the other end of the social spectrum — the people at the lower ranks of Scottish society who experienced unfreedom and servility in the period between roughly 1100 and the ...
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This chapter evaluates the other end of the social spectrum — the people at the lower ranks of Scottish society who experienced unfreedom and servility in the period between roughly 1100 and the middle years of the fourteenth century. It explores the ways in which the changing economic, political, and social landscapes that marked the ‘Anglo-Norman era’ in Scotland affected people of low social rank, especially native Gaels. It argues that the conditions which transformed the social and legal status of a broad spectrum of the indigenous population in Ireland after 1171 were in many respects similar to those which affected peasants in the course of the ‘Normanisation’ of Scotland. It applies the methodologies and findings of Irish historians to Scottish charter texts in an effort to detect the otherwise muted voices of the tillers of the soil.Less
This chapter evaluates the other end of the social spectrum — the people at the lower ranks of Scottish society who experienced unfreedom and servility in the period between roughly 1100 and the middle years of the fourteenth century. It explores the ways in which the changing economic, political, and social landscapes that marked the ‘Anglo-Norman era’ in Scotland affected people of low social rank, especially native Gaels. It argues that the conditions which transformed the social and legal status of a broad spectrum of the indigenous population in Ireland after 1171 were in many respects similar to those which affected peasants in the course of the ‘Normanisation’ of Scotland. It applies the methodologies and findings of Irish historians to Scottish charter texts in an effort to detect the otherwise muted voices of the tillers of the soil.
Tara Alberts
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199646265
- eISBN:
- 9780191747830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646265.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History, History of Religion
Slaves were another group which posed particular challenges for missionaries, which they discussed at length, debating the impact of unfreedom on man’s soul. Bonded labour and slavery were extremely ...
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Slaves were another group which posed particular challenges for missionaries, which they discussed at length, debating the impact of unfreedom on man’s soul. Bonded labour and slavery were extremely widespread in early modern Southeast Asia, and Portuguese Melaka continued to be an important regional trading port for chattel slaves from all over the world. Chapter IX explores ministries to slaves throughout the region, considering the tensions and problems such activities could excite. It also uncovers the neglected issue of the missionaries’ own use of, and trade in, slaves, which became a distinctive feature of several Southeast Asian missions.Less
Slaves were another group which posed particular challenges for missionaries, which they discussed at length, debating the impact of unfreedom on man’s soul. Bonded labour and slavery were extremely widespread in early modern Southeast Asia, and Portuguese Melaka continued to be an important regional trading port for chattel slaves from all over the world. Chapter IX explores ministries to slaves throughout the region, considering the tensions and problems such activities could excite. It also uncovers the neglected issue of the missionaries’ own use of, and trade in, slaves, which became a distinctive feature of several Southeast Asian missions.
Neil Roberts
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226127460
- eISBN:
- 9780226201184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226201184.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter broadens discourse on marronage through exploration into a late modern maroon movement: Rastafari. Rastafari speech acts inform its interpretation of freedom and the evolving disposition ...
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This chapter broadens discourse on marronage through exploration into a late modern maroon movement: Rastafari. Rastafari speech acts inform its interpretation of freedom and the evolving disposition of its members towards the state. The chapter begins with reflection on Peter Tosh’s lyrical commentary on flight, temporality, and revolution. Elucidation of Tosh’s lament on the inability of masses globally to understand marronage and acknowledge a singular philosophical worldview shaping orders of unfreedom precedes the brief overview of core Rastafari tenets. The description of Rastafari livity (way of life) includes explanation of its unique political language and preoccupations: Babylon, Zion, dread, love, reasoning reparations, repatriation, unfreedom, and freedom. The chapter argues globalization and doctrinal transformations among branches of Rastafari in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and across the world have led to shifts in Rastafari beliefs on the nature of flight (physical and spiritual), itself representation of debates on flight addressed throughout the book. For these reasons, it asserts that the ongoing benefits and challenges of Rastafari present us with a rubric to appreciate freedom’s meaning and why marronage still matters.Less
This chapter broadens discourse on marronage through exploration into a late modern maroon movement: Rastafari. Rastafari speech acts inform its interpretation of freedom and the evolving disposition of its members towards the state. The chapter begins with reflection on Peter Tosh’s lyrical commentary on flight, temporality, and revolution. Elucidation of Tosh’s lament on the inability of masses globally to understand marronage and acknowledge a singular philosophical worldview shaping orders of unfreedom precedes the brief overview of core Rastafari tenets. The description of Rastafari livity (way of life) includes explanation of its unique political language and preoccupations: Babylon, Zion, dread, love, reasoning reparations, repatriation, unfreedom, and freedom. The chapter argues globalization and doctrinal transformations among branches of Rastafari in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and across the world have led to shifts in Rastafari beliefs on the nature of flight (physical and spiritual), itself representation of debates on flight addressed throughout the book. For these reasons, it asserts that the ongoing benefits and challenges of Rastafari present us with a rubric to appreciate freedom’s meaning and why marronage still matters.
Hannah Lewis, Peter Dwyer, Stuart Hodkinson, and Louise Waite
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781447306900
- eISBN:
- 9781447311676
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447306900.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
In Chapter 6 we reflectively stand back from these 30 human stories to critically interrogate the very meaning and relevance of forced labour for the precarious migrant labour experience as the ...
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In Chapter 6 we reflectively stand back from these 30 human stories to critically interrogate the very meaning and relevance of forced labour for the precarious migrant labour experience as the conceptual basis for tackling such exploitation. We critique the ILO approach to defining and tackling forced labour and argue that discussing such phenomena in rigid binaries (such as free/forced) is unhelpful. Instead we highlight continuums and processes in migrant labour experiences and in line with recent work (e.g. Skrivankova, 2010) we suggest that a continuum approach built around the concept of ‘unfreedom’ is the best way to ensure that the diversity of migrants’ experiences of forced labour are considered. We further posit the ‘hyper-precarity trap’ as an analytical device to show how racialised and gendered migration, work and welfare regimes, and neoliberalism combine to create the ‘demand and supply’ of migrant forced labourers who are subject to multidimensional insecurity and exploitation. We argue that attempts to portray contemporary ‘slavery’, ‘trafficking’ or ‘forced labour’ as exceptional phenomenon undermines an understanding of how such exploitation emanates from broader structural inequalities.Less
In Chapter 6 we reflectively stand back from these 30 human stories to critically interrogate the very meaning and relevance of forced labour for the precarious migrant labour experience as the conceptual basis for tackling such exploitation. We critique the ILO approach to defining and tackling forced labour and argue that discussing such phenomena in rigid binaries (such as free/forced) is unhelpful. Instead we highlight continuums and processes in migrant labour experiences and in line with recent work (e.g. Skrivankova, 2010) we suggest that a continuum approach built around the concept of ‘unfreedom’ is the best way to ensure that the diversity of migrants’ experiences of forced labour are considered. We further posit the ‘hyper-precarity trap’ as an analytical device to show how racialised and gendered migration, work and welfare regimes, and neoliberalism combine to create the ‘demand and supply’ of migrant forced labourers who are subject to multidimensional insecurity and exploitation. We argue that attempts to portray contemporary ‘slavery’, ‘trafficking’ or ‘forced labour’ as exceptional phenomenon undermines an understanding of how such exploitation emanates from broader structural inequalities.
Thomas J. Donahue-Ochoa
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190051686
- eISBN:
- 9780190051716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190051686.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Among the world’s liberal elites today, a received view answers all five of the questions put by this book, arguing that systematic injustice is, essentially, persecution by a government; that there ...
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Among the world’s liberal elites today, a received view answers all five of the questions put by this book, arguing that systematic injustice is, essentially, persecution by a government; that there are no global social injustices; that individuals have a strong reason to challenge injustices only if they perpetrated or were victimized by them; that the individuals made unfree by systematic injustice are only its direct victims; and that the ultimate harm done by oppression is the unjust denial, to the oppressed, of the ability to live as free and equal citizens. Against this, the book’s introduction presents the theory of “Unfreedom for All,” which argues that oppressions are also institutional structures that privilege one group and unjustly harm another; that global systematic injustices of, say, race, gender, and poverty do exist; that all are harmed by oppressions because all are made unfree by them; and that this should be everyone’s main reason for joining in solidarity against them.Less
Among the world’s liberal elites today, a received view answers all five of the questions put by this book, arguing that systematic injustice is, essentially, persecution by a government; that there are no global social injustices; that individuals have a strong reason to challenge injustices only if they perpetrated or were victimized by them; that the individuals made unfree by systematic injustice are only its direct victims; and that the ultimate harm done by oppression is the unjust denial, to the oppressed, of the ability to live as free and equal citizens. Against this, the book’s introduction presents the theory of “Unfreedom for All,” which argues that oppressions are also institutional structures that privilege one group and unjustly harm another; that global systematic injustices of, say, race, gender, and poverty do exist; that all are harmed by oppressions because all are made unfree by them; and that this should be everyone’s main reason for joining in solidarity against them.
