Recognition, justice and the question of autonomy: challenges for a normative social theory

Abstract

Scientific knowledge in general, and social theory in particular, progress with public debates. The debate that Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth had two and a half decades ago contributed to better explain, in the context of Critical Theory, issues related to recognition, distributive justice, and also to the autonomy of individuals in a scenario in which new social movements and new themes contributed to diversify social struggles. This text briefly recalls the change in the scenario, delineate in large traces the emergence of Axel Honneth’s proposal for a theory of recognition, to then addresses some of the key lessons learned in that debate, as well as points out contributions of Fraser to the field of Critical Theory. It concludes with a reflection on some implications of the debate that could become productive in our context.