Abstract

This project attempts to develop an alternative account of political justice relying on the insights of post-Heideggerian thinkers. In the dominant versions of modern liberalism, represented in this case by Hobbes and Rawls, the question of substantive justice is secondary to the management and containment of political conflict. The priority of stability over justice in liberalism leads to the subordination of ethical politics, democratic participation, tolerance of difference, and demands for substantive social justice to the requirements of political stability. Continental philosophy, on the other hand, has begun to develop alternative accounts of justice which do not presuppose the establishment of a stable social order. By explicating the accounts of justice implicit in the work of Heidegger, Derrida, Levinas, and Irigaray it is possible to articulate a conception of justice which can serve as a basis for political order without invoking the priority of stability or transcendental authority, an account of politics based upon an understanding of individuals as irreducible, unique and ethically responsible subjects. A Continental theory of justice should be understood as the political manifestation of ethical responsibility via community institutions; it must therefore articulate a contingent vision of how the political should be constituted, indicate what material conditions are most beneficial to encourage ethically responsible social relations , and always maintain an attentive sense of the evolving and transforming character of any such social order. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the implications of a Continental theory of justice for a post-liberal theory of democracy. These reflections develop the concept of serial thematization as a possible articulation of a just politics based on the insights of Continental thought. Serial thematization accepts that it will always be necessary to engage in the activity of ordering social reality so as to make political action possible while always remaining vigilant to the exclusions which are an inherent part of any necessary thematization. It is therefore the responsibility of a just politics to constantly work to open and transform the thematization of the moment in order to create a new, more just and inclusive thematization.