Recognition justice is a theory of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

that emphasises the

recognition Recognition may refer to: *Award, something given in recognition of an achievement Machine learning *Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below Biometric * Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...

of human dignity and of difference between subaltern groups and the dominant society. Social philosophers

Axel Honneth Axel Honneth (; ; born 18 July 1949) is a German philosopher who is the Professor for Social Philosophy at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Jack B. Weinstein Professor of the Humanities in the department of philosophy at Columbia University. ...

and

Nancy Fraser Nancy Fraser (; born May 20, 1947) is an American philosopher, critical theorist, feminist, and the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City.Jadžić, Milo� ...

point to a 21st-century shift in theories of

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

away from

distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources. Often contrasted with just process, which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considera ...

(which emphasises the elimination of economic inequalities) toward recognition justice and the eliminating of humiliation and disrespect. The shift toward recognition justice is associated with the rise of

identity politics Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...

. The political implications of recognition justice are more ambiguous than distributive justice, because recognition is not a resource than can be redistributed, but is rather a

phenomenological Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

experience of people and groups.

Background and debate

critiques over-reliance on recognition justice, arguing for a combination of distributive and recognition justice to guarantee equal participation in society. Fraser states that since 1989, the

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

has entered a

post-socialist Postsocialism is the academic study of states after the fall or decline of socialism, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. The "socialism" in postsocialism is not based on a Marxist conception of socialism but rather, especially in the Eastern Eu ...

period marked by the absence of any credible vision for a just society. In this absence, claims by

subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

groups for recognition of difference have become “intensely salient… at times eclipsing claims for social equality.” She further observes that 21st century social movements are increasingly defined as cultural groups rather than as economic classes (as was the case prior to the 1990s when a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

/Marxist analysis dominated leftist ideology). Fraser aims to integrate claims for recognition with claims for redistribution in the context of rising

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

that has resulted in further concentration of wealth and distributive injustice. David Ingram in his book ''World Crisis and Underdevelopment'' claims that injustice always implies lack of recognition. He promotes recognition justice, stating that “recognition theory takes up everyday feelings of moral outrage, encourages theoretical elaboration of new concepts by which to name and identify the harms that occasion that outrage, and thereby provides theoretical guidance to the formation of social movements aimed at overcoming a vast array of distinctive types of social injustices.” Schweiger critiques Ingram's claims that injustice implies lack of recognition, stating that certain forms of

epistemic injustice Epistemic injustice is injustice related to knowledge. It includes exclusion and silencing; systematic distortion or misrepresentation of one's meanings or contributions; undervaluing of one's status or standing in communicative practices; unfair d ...

have “precisely the form of separating injustices and experiences of misrecognition.” He asserts that phenomenologically, most people do not understand the injustices they face and may unquestioningly accept their own exploitation.

Environmental justice

Environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justic ...

scholar

Kyle Powys Whyte Kyle Powys Whyte is an Indigenous philosopher and climate/environmental justice scholar. He is a Professor of Environment and Sustainability and George Willis Pack Professor at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability. ...

promotes recognition justice as a framework for evaluating the fairness of interactions between

American Indigenous people The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

and the

US federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...

. He elaborates that distributive, procedural, and corrective justice frameworks can't be applied to tribal contexts without recognising native peoples' unique experiences with

colonisation Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

and political statuses. Tribal environmental struggles can't be reduced to

class conflict Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

s, and Indigenous peoples' economic aspirations may not be commensurable with the economic values of the dominant society. Colville scholar

Dina Gilio-Whitaker Dina Gilio-Whitaker is an American academic, journalist and author, who studies Native Americans in the United States, decolonization and environmental justice. She is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes. In 2019, she published ''As Long ...

also states that environmental justice frameworks should recognise Indigenous peoples' special legal relationship with the federal government and spiritual interdependence with the Earth.

References

{{Types of justice Social justice Social philosophy