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Parity of participation and the politics of status

Parity of participation and the politics of status
Parity of participation and the politics of status
Over the past decade, Nancy Fraser has developed a sophisticated theory of social justice. At its heart lies the principle of parity of participation, according to which all adult members of society must be in a position to interact with one another as peers. This article examines some obstacles to the implementation of that principle. Concentrating on the contemporary status order, it asks two specific questions. Is it possible to produce a precise account of how the status order might need to be ordered for parity of participation to be realized? And is it possible to derive a detailed and coherent political strategy capable of achieving such parity within the status order?

The argument of this article is that, while Fraser has recognized the difficulties that the complexity of the contemporary status order poses for achieving parity of participation, she has nevertheless underestimated those difficulties. If parity of participation requires status equality, important and difficult work remains to be done in delineating the nature, and demands, of equality in the contemporary status order.
1474-8851
109-122
Armstrong, Chis
2fbfa0a3-9183-4562-9370-0f6441df90d2
Thompson, Simon
251a3271-54c3-4bfd-af10-9c25aa8f026a
Armstrong, Chis
2fbfa0a3-9183-4562-9370-0f6441df90d2
Thompson, Simon
251a3271-54c3-4bfd-af10-9c25aa8f026a

Armstrong, Chis and Thompson, Simon (2008) Parity of participation and the politics of status. European Journal of Political Theory, 8 (1), 109-122. (doi:10.1177/1474885108096963).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Over the past decade, Nancy Fraser has developed a sophisticated theory of social justice. At its heart lies the principle of parity of participation, according to which all adult members of society must be in a position to interact with one another as peers. This article examines some obstacles to the implementation of that principle. Concentrating on the contemporary status order, it asks two specific questions. Is it possible to produce a precise account of how the status order might need to be ordered for parity of participation to be realized? And is it possible to derive a detailed and coherent political strategy capable of achieving such parity within the status order?

The argument of this article is that, while Fraser has recognized the difficulties that the complexity of the contemporary status order poses for achieving parity of participation, she has nevertheless underestimated those difficulties. If parity of participation requires status equality, important and difficult work remains to be done in delineating the nature, and demands, of equality in the contemporary status order.

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Published date: 2008

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 51986
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/51986
ISSN: 1474-8851
PURE UUID: 42c48170-92f9-410e-9fc0-12a9ed6b78f2
ORCID for Chis Armstrong: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7462-5316

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Date deposited: 13 Jun 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:47

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Author: Chis Armstrong ORCID iD
Author: Simon Thompson

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