Liberalism and structural injustice: when the solution becomes the problem

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Date
2024-05-09
Authors
Bufacchi, Vittorio
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Edward Elgar
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Abstract
If structural injustice is the problem, could liberalism be the solution? This paper argues that over the last few centuries liberalism tackled three manifestations of historical injustice (slavery; natural hierarchies; colonialism) by promoting the mantra of individual rights, but the unintended consequence of this philosophy has been to engender and legitimize even more enduring forms of structural injustice (exploitation; inequality; domination). Historical injustice has not gone away, it has simply learned to accommodate liberal orthodoxy. To tackle structural injustice, it may be necessary to look beyond liberalism.
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Keywords
Liberalism , Social injustice , Brian Barry , Rights , Colonialism
Citation
Bufacchi, V. (2024) 'Liberalism and structural injustice: when the solution becomes the problem', in Ivison, D. (ed.) Research Handbook on Liberalism. London: Edward Elgar, pp. 225–238. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109034.00020
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© 2024, the Editor. This is a draft chapter. The final version is available in Research Handbook on Liberalism edited by Duncan Ivison, published in 2024, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839109034.00020