CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Rastogi, Anushri |
|---|---|
| Title | Caring about Structural Injustice: A Critique of Iris Marion Young and a Care Ethics Intervention |
| Summary | This thesis critiques Iris Marion Young’s social connection model of responsibility towards dismantling structural injustice, arguing that her separation of political from moral responsibility is principally mistaken and often practically insufficient. Through the example of Jai and Aju—two fictional individuals differently situated within a sweatshop system—it demonstrates that political responsibilities, as Young conceives them, may still lead to moral scrutiny and even blame. The thesis proposes care ethics as a more grounded alternative, drawing on thinkers like Joan Tronto, Eva Kittay and Stephanie Collins to reframe responsibility as relational, embodied, and context-sensitive care. Unlike Young’s model, which risks vagueness and detachment, care ethics centres responsiveness, interdependence, and emotional engagement. It shows how political responsibility can be morally substantive, without reducing it to guilt or legalistic blame. Ultimately, this work suggests that a care-based model can better motivate action and ethical transformation in the face of structural injustice. |
| Supervisor | Miklosi, Zoltan |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/rastogi_anushri.pdf |
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