Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton Classics, 122) Paperback – September 11, 2011
by Iris Marion Young (Author), Danielle S. Allen (Foreword)
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In this classic work of feminist political thought, Iris Marion Young challenges the prevailing reduction of social justice to distributive justice. It critically analyzes basic concepts underlying most theories of justice, including impartiality, formal equality, and the unitary moral subjectivity. The starting point for her critique is the experience and concerns of the new social movements about decision making, cultural expression, and division of labor--that were created by marginal and excluded groups, including women, African Americans, and American Indians, as well as gays and lesbians. Iris Young defines concepts of domination and oppression to cover issues eluding the distributive model. Democratic theorists, according to Young do not adequately address the problem of an inclusive participatory framework. By assuming a homogeneous public, they fail to consider institutional arrangements for including people not culturally identified with white European male norms of reason and respectability. Young urges that normative theory and public policy should undermine group-based oppression by affirming rather than suppressing social group difference. Basing her vision of the good society on the differentiated, culturally plural network of contemporary urban life, she argues for a principle of group representation in democratic publics and for group-differentiated policies.
Danielle Allen's new foreword contextualizes Young's work and explains how debates surrounding social justice have changed since―and been transformed by―the original publication of Justice and the Politics of Difference.
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Print length
304 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Publication date
September 11, 2011
Dimensions
6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Winner of the 1991 Victoria Schuck Award, American Political Science Association"
"Young has written an extremely important book, articulating a position which challenges theorists of justice from Plato to Rawls."---Andrew Murphy, Journal of Politics
"This is a superb book which opens up many new vistas for theorists of justice. Young makes a number of insightful arguments both about the issues that need to be addressed by a theory of justice, and about the kind of theory capable of addressing them."---Will Kymlicka, Canadian Philosophical Reviews
"With remarkable precision and clarity, Young constructs a 'pluralized' account of oppression, aiming to describe all the groups and all the ways they are oppressed." ―
Review
"This is an innovative work, an important contribution to feminist theory and political thought, and one of the most impressive statements of the relationship between postmodernist critiques of universalism and concrete thinking.... Iris Young makes the most convincing case I know of for the emancipatory implications of postmodernism."―Seyla Benhabib, Yale University
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Product details
Publisher : Princeton University Press; Revised edition (September 11, 2011)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0691152624
ISBN-13 : 978-0691152622
Item Weight : 15 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #259,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#707 in Political Philosophy (Books)
#725 in General Gender Studies
Customer Reviews:
4.6 out of 5 stars 61 ratings
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from the United States
John Duff
4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening ReadReviewed in the United States on October 7, 2017
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A wonderful critique of the inherent problems with justice theories. Young demonstrates how contemporary theories of justice focus too narrowly on distribution, thereby diminishing the impact of oppression and domination perpetuated by institutions. Thus, justice ought to encompass a wider scope of social phenomena. Young, then, argues that impartial normative morality assumed in contemporary justice theories is impossible, due to the lack of capturing difference among communities and individuals. City Life is Young's suggestion for capturing difference and celebrating the fact of communal and individual partiality. This is a fantastic entering wedge into the underlying assumptions of contemporary justice theory, demonstrating that the debate is far from over.
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Paul E CriderTop Contributor: Philosophy
3.0 out of 5 stars whatever) have a better understanding of their issues than the activists she believes ...Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2016
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Iris Marion Young is by turns insightful and naive. The central thrust of her work is that justice should be understood not as a question of how to distribute wealth or other quantities, but as overcoming oppression and domination. Oppression is constraining an individual's development, through exploitation, marginalization, violence, cultural imperialism, or powerlessness (the five faces of oppression). Domination is preventing an individual from participating in determining their own actions and the rules constraining those actions. In general I think this is the right way to think about justice. It gets at what really matters, rather than chasing some phantom of distributive equality which wouldn't even guarantee improvements in the lives of those most disadvantaged.
Unfortunately, Young has a romantic vision of democracy that fails to acknowledge any strong criticism of the democratic process. Her arguments against expertise are interesting, but at the end of the day scientists (nuclear, biological, whatever) have a better understanding of their issues than the activists she believes they should have an equal stage with. Reading her chapter on democratic participation made me think she would almost certainly support anti-vaccine movements, in addition to any number of dubious causes.
Despite her astute analysis of the dangers of zealous zoning regulations and the benefits of city life, she nonetheless envisions an economic system ruled by committee. Her statements about regional governance knowing better than private actors whether and where to build, say, new shopping malls suggests she's never even considered the socialist calculation problem posed by libertarians. In general her refreshingly original ideas would be better served if she had a more mainstream and less leftist understanding of economics. That said, there is much to learn from the book.
3 people found this helpful
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Queenie
5.0 out of 5 stars very niceReviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019
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just like a usual book, nothing special
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J**n
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring!Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2020
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My favourite part: Five Faces of Oppression!
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Annie
5.0 out of 5 stars Young is a MasterReviewed in the United States on October 18, 2013
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Those of you familiar with Young's exemplary thinking and insight will not be disappointed. This book was used as part of a course, and well received by students.
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D. V. Evans
3.0 out of 5 stars Good buy for school.Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015
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The item arrived quickly and in great condition, as described. Great experience!
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Dan R
5.0 out of 5 stars I actually read this.Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2015
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Most of it anyway.
Actually just a few excerpts.
Pretty good.
I don't remember.
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Dennis and Rona Fischman
5.0 out of 5 stars conceptual building blocks for a better worldReviewed in the United States on August 20, 1997
Iris Young makes us think about justice not as a set of debts we owe other individuals but as a set of relations between social groups. In a just society, no group is oppressed. Her chapter "Five Faces of Oppression" is a classic. She brings new insights to debates about welfare, affirmative action, and disability. This book also offers a thought-provoking discussion of community. Young argues that we have based our idea of community on the rural life of an earlier age and that city life is where we should look for ideas about how community thrives in diversity.
Young tries to write for a general audience as well as for scholars. Sometimes, she succeeds, although the parts of the book that address particular groups and their predicaments or particular social policies are more accessible than the parts in which she critiques other theories. I would recommend this book for second-year students in college and up. It marks a turning point in social and political thought.
35 people found this helpful
