Justice and The Politics of Difference

Iris Marion Young, the author, was a political theorist and social activist who died of cancer in 2006. Receiving a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in 1974, Young later became a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. Young builds an academic argument in this work by engaging with several different schools of academic thought, such as Marxism and modern liberalism, and reviewing the positions of each school. It is essential that academic arguments acknowledge the scholarly findings to date in the area about which they are writing. Young does this throughout the work and thereby participates in a scholarly conversation. She does not align herself entirely with any school of thought but is more critical of some schools than others. Considering such approaches tools to building her theory, she avoids association with all the positions in any given theory and makes a unique contribution to the academic literature.

Young clearly has the academic credentials to make this philosophical argument. Her standpoint as a woman born in 1949 and an activist in the feminist movement also provide her with meaningful experiences to speak about issues of oppression. She additionally interacted with members of several other social movements in an effort to appreciate diverse perspectives.