A school of thought that emphasizes individual rights, formal equality, and reason as the basis for justice, which Young critically examines for its individualism and failure to account for social group differences.

Thinkers who advocate for a public good and small, community-based decision-making, which Young engages with while critiquing their potential to overlook social differences.

Proponents of class analysis focusing on economic systems as sources of injustice, whose emphasis on class Young expands to include other forms of oppression like race and gender.

Theorists who challenge universal principles and the idea of one truth, sharing with Young a skepticism of abstract reasoning but differing in her aim to retain some Enlightenment ideals.