Abstract

In recent years, political theory has provided a ground for contesting questions of particularism and universality, difference and unity, inclusion and exclusion. One line of inquiry has pursued questions about the political implications of "difference;" an increasingly common thesis is that people's differences are either systematically denied by political theorists, or become the illegitimate basis for some form of exclusion. ;While certain writers have written about the problem of exclusion, they have not specified categories that can examine the question of how different political theories exclude differently. This thesis, on the other hand, posits the existence of several forms of exclusion in political theory--particularly with respect to how theories construct individual identity. I attempt to explain both how theorists create core conceptions of identity within the context of their theories, and why those particular identities become problematic for individuals. ;I argue that political theories exist on a rough spectrum vis-a-vis identity, from less to more subtle: outright rejection of an individual's identity ; imposition of a conception of identity on individuals, either by rejecting other aspects of identity or subordinating other aspects ; demands that individuals express their identities in particular ways . Rather than present exclusion as monolithic, I argue that we can and should begin to discuss the nuances of exclusion seen across all political theories. ;Exclusion types 2, 3, and 4 are discussed more fully within substantive chapters on Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, and John Dewey. In exploring what is problematic about these categories, I discuss ways in which the methodology of the particular theorist might dictate specific constraints on his/her conception of individual identity. Overall, I argue that this analysis is important on both theoretical and political grounds: identity questions can be used to evaluate the soundness and structure of a theory, as well as its prospects for people's lives and political well-being