Recognition justice theory was built from real-world movements, not abstract reasoning
Evidence
In his recent overview of justice, Brighouse (2004) begins his discussion of Fraser with a frank admission: ‘Fraser’s starting point, unlike that of all the theorists we have discussed up till now, is the real world. She identifies injustices in the real world, and tries to elaborate a theory which explains what is wrong with those injustices … ’ (p. 155). Theories of recognition, including both Fraser and Young, specifically address various injustices. Fraser began her foray into the redistribution/recognition debate with the observation that struggles for recognition have become the paradigmatic form of political struggle. Likewise, Young began her Justice and the Politics of Difference by asking what the implications of various movements— feminist, black liberation, American Indian, gay and lesbian—could be for political theories of justice. And both Sen and Nussbaum have explicitly expressed an interest in a theory of justice that is more applicable to real struggles for justice in the developing world. — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 165
Categorization
- XREF: Causal direction here — movements shaping theory — feeds the reader’s cross-course concern with how EJ litigation and regulation actually deliver (or fail to deliver) justice. — connects to: Movement definitions of justice often extend past distributive accounts — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 10; Justice theory expanded because real movements first broadened justice’s meaning — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice:…, 174; Early social-justice activism preceded sophisticated political theory
- ADDENDUM: The claim that theory follows real-world movements connects to a justice-typology instrument the reader is building for Eco-Justice and Legal Systems courses.
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
Broader Connections
- Justice theory expanded because real movements first broadened justice’s meaning
#corroborates(0.92) — David Schlosberg, Defining Environmental Justice, 174