Animals, politics and justice: Rawlsian liberalism and the plight of non-humans
TL;DR: The authors argued that the treatment of animals becomes a matter of moral preferences, whereby the state is reluctant to intervene to prohibit those who see no wrong in animal cruelty, leaving animals subject to the liberal principle of moral pluralism.
Abstract: It is argued that Rawls illegitimately excludes animals as beneficiaries of the deliberations in the original position. Claims about the superiority of contractarianism from an animal protection perspective are devalued, however, because Rawls' principles of justice are themselves derived from, or at least influenced by, preexisting moral intuitions and values. In addition, excluding animals from Rawls' theory of justice leaves them subject to the liberal principle of moral pluralism. Here, in theory and practice, the treatment of animals becomes a matter of moral preferences, whereby the state is reluctant to intervene to prohibit those who see no wrong in animal cruelty.
Citations
More filters
259 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that animals should be viewed as dynamic beings, inextricable to political processes, and integral to the formation and operation of the political networks that regulate, protect and exploit them.
142 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effectiveness of forest certification in Norway and Sweden was examined and it was found that certification processes in both countries have resulted in high participation in certification schemes, high market penetration by certified forest organisations, and reduced conflict prevalence over forestry practices.
Abstract: During the last decade, we have seen the emergence, under the auspices of non-state authorities, of market-driven governance schemes for certification of forest holdings and eco-labelling of wood products. Do these schemes affect actual management practices and environmental protection in forestry? This article examines the effectiveness of forest certification in Norway and Sweden – two ecologically and politically similar countries, but with different certification schemes. It is found that certification processes in both countries have resulted in high participation in certification schemes, high market penetration by certified forest organisations, and reduced conflict prevalence over forestry practices. Although forest certification seems to have modified on-the-ground practices in ways that lead to less environmental deterioration of forests, we still know too little about forest certification’s environmental impact and efficacy as a problem-solving instrument. More research is therefore urged in these areas.
121 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors re-examine the political interest in and use of new environmental policy instruments and other non-regulatory modes of governance, highlighting the mismatch between the animated discussion of new instruments amongst policymakers and academics and the less active adoption and performance of them in practice.
Abstract: We re-examine the political interest in and use of ‘new’ environmental policy instruments and other non-regulatory modes of governance. We start by taking stock of the dynamic debate that has emerged around this topic since the turn of the century. We then contextualise that debate by examining subsequent challenges to, and transformations in, state-led governing and the broader and widely acknowledged rise of ‘new governance’, highlighting the mismatch between the animated discussion of new instruments amongst policymakers and academics and the less active adoption and performance of them in practice. We make an overall assessment of the role of instruments – both ‘old’ and ‘new’ – in the wider debate about governance, and suggest some promising steps that could be taken by both practitioners and scholars better to understand and possibly even utilise more new environmental policy instruments in the future.
96 citations
References
More filters
Book•
01 Jan 2000
1,762 citations
"Animals, politics and justice: Rawl..." refers background in this paper
...: 165] and, as a consequence, some moral and political questions can be ‘removed from the political agenda’ [Rawls, 1993: 151]....
[...]
...…then, wants to rule out those doctrines and conceptions of the good life which are ‘in direct conflict with the principles of justice’ and, in particular, those ‘requiring the repression or degradation of certain persons on, say, racial, or ethnic, or perfectionist grounds’ [Rawls, 1993: 195–6]....
[...]
TL;DR: There are, I know, people who profess to believe in animal rights but do not avow these goals as discussed by the authors, who say that factory farming, they say, is wrong, it violates animals' rights, but traditional animal agriculture is all right.
Abstract: There are, I know, people who profess to believe in animal rights but do not avow these goals. Factory farming, they say, is wrong—it violates animals’ rights—but traditional animal agriculture is all right. Toxicity tests of cosmetics on animals violates their rights, but important medical research—cancer research, for example—does not. The clubbing of baby seals is abhorrent, but not the harvesting of adult seals. I used to think I understood this reasoning. Not any more. You don’t change unjust institutions by tidying them up.
1,113 citations
Book•
01 Mar 1984
TL;DR: The authors examines the barriers that our philosophical traditions have erected between human beings and animals and reveals that the too-often ridiculed subject of animal rights is an issue crucially related to such problems within the human community as racism, sexism, and age discrimination.
Abstract: "Animals and Why They Matter" examines the barriers that our philosophical traditions have erected between human beings and animals and reveals that the too-often ridiculed subject of animal rights is an issue crucially related to such problems within the human community as racism, sexism, and age discrimination. Mary Midgley's profound and clearly written narrative is a thought-provoking study of the way in which the opposition between reason and emotion has shaped our moral and political ideas and the problems it has raised. Whether considering vegetarianism, women's rights, or the "humanity" of pets, this book goes to the heart of the question of why all animals matter.
493 citations
259 citations
"Animals, politics and justice: Rawl..." refers result in this paper
...Rawls brings to the social contract, for instance, his ideological ‘baggage’ that social and economic inequalities are undeserved, and that people will tend to choose freedom ahead of equality, and his original position is arguably designed in such a way that it produces results consistent with his prior value system [Kymlicka, 1990: 66–68; Wenz, 1988: 252]. Dworkin [1975] similarly, argues that at the heart of Rawls’ contractarianism is a deeper commitment to the right of each individual to equal concern and respect....
[...]
...…‘baggage’ that social and economic inequalities are undeserved, and that people will tend to choose freedom ahead of equality, and his original position is arguably designed in such a way that it produces results consistent with his prior value system [Kymlicka, 1990: 66–68; Wenz, 1988: 252]....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take that simple thought to animate concerns about what we ought to be doing to preserve conditions that will make life worth living (or indeed liveable at all) in the future, and especially in the time after those currently alive will have died (future generations).
Abstract: As temporary custodians of the planet, those who are alive at any given time can do a better or worse job of handing it on to their successors. I take that simple thought to animate concerns about what we ought to be doing to preserve conditions that will make life worth living (or indeed liveable at all) in the future, and especially in the time after those currently alive will have died (‘future generations’). There are widespread suspicions that we are not doing enough for future generations, but how do we determine what is enough? Putting the question in that way leads us, I suggest, towards a formulation of it in terms of intergenerational justice.
251 citations