Global Justice Through Poor People's Perspectives

Date of Award

5-12-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Philosophy

Advisor(s)

Kenneth Baynes

Keywords

Contractualism;Global Justice;Grounded Normativity;John Rawls;Silencing;Sovereign Debt

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Philosophy

Abstract

This dissertation argues for greater representation of marginalized communities in philosophical debates about global justice. Since the 1970s, philosophers have debated the nature of our obligations to the global poor. While these debates are rich in terms of the conceptual distinctions they draw and the social scientific information they deploy, they omit something crucial: poor people’s voices. My dissertation addresses this omission in three parts. Part I diagnoses the source of the omission. It holds Rawls-inspired ideal theory responsible for the exclusion of marginalized voices. While Rawls purports to theorize about justice from behind a veil of ignorance, his theory incorporates privileged social scientific paradigms. In other words, the veil allows elite presuppositions about socioeconomic institutions to pass through while blocking off the marginalized’s perspectives. Unfortunately, Rawls’ interlocutors do little better at accommodating the worst-off’s voices. I conceptualize such inattention to the marginalized’s experiences as a type of silencing that involves downplaying and disregarding their standpoints. In Part II, I steer global justice theorization in a more inclusive direction by appealing to the value of mutual recognition. I contend that theorists have—under Kant’s long shadow—tended to recognize human beings by respecting their abstract rationality. Because this notion of recognition struggles to distinguish individuals from one another and comes close to objectifying them, I insist that scholars should reject it. Genuine recognition requires respect for individuals’ concrete reasons. I then use this principle to develop a methodology for philosophizing from poor people’s perspectives. It involves listening to, synthesizing, and then conceptualizing the experiences of marginalized groups. Part III applies this methodology to a pressing global issue: debt repayment by developing countries. I draw upon ethnographic research into the lived experiences of the impoverished to formulate a novel conceptualization of precarity. This concept, in turn, becomes a basis to challenge rigid repayment norms. I argue for flexible debt contracts that delay interest payments during difficult economic periods in the Global South, preventing precarity for its people. Ultimately, my project centers the experiences of the marginalized in political philosophy. In an era marked by escalating poverty and inequality, it offers a concrete and human-focused corrective to abstract theorizing about socioeconomic justice.

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