Book Review: The Rights of Others: Aliens, Residents and Citizens, Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange
| Published date | 01 August 2006 |
| Author | Barbara Hudson |
| DOI | 10.1177/1362480606065917 |
| Date | 01 August 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Book Reviews
397
attorneys are like directors and script-writers, jurors are like movie viewers,
pp. 85–6) for which postmodern theory is superfluous. On the other hand,
chapter 7 on ‘Restorative Justice and Victim Offender Mediation’ is
exemplary—the authors carefully describe the benefits and limitations of these
conventional (ABA-approved!) programs, and then set forth numerous ‘critical
criminological challenges’ based on the works of many of the French theorists
discussed at the outset of the book (Lacan, Baudrillard, Derrida, Kristeva,
Barthes, Lyotard, Deleuze and Guattari); one of the primary reasons this
chapter works so well is that the authors have elsewhere published on
this topic. A final substantive chapter 8 (preceding a brief concluding summa-
tion) is likewise admirable for its account of social movements, including
innocence projects and intentional communities—here the authors are able to
explicate their fascination with chaos theory as an explanatory model for
criminology.
The authors conclude by recalling that
the project . . . postmodern scholars set for themselves was to probe the
fluidity of identity as juxtaposed to organizational and cultural expectations.
Their elegant deconstruction of the institutions and practices of social
control, general identity, power, and language promised to destabilize long
held theoretical and political conceptualization of human consciousness
and desire.
(p. 135)
In an effort to overcome the criticism that postmodern theory is negative and
impractical, the authors of this volume explore the promise of postmodern
theory to generate alternative, liberating, transformative practices in the field of
criminal law. Acknowledging that their work is but an initial step—‘There is
still much more to do’ (p. 139)—the authors invite readers to engage French
critical theorists and to imagine the possibilities for applications in the struggle
for a more humane society.
Seyla Benhabib
The Rights of Others: Aliens, Residents and Citizens
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. xii + 251 pp. £15.99
(pbk). ISBN 0 521 53860 2; (hbk) ISBN 0 521 83134 2.
Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth
Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange
London: Verso, 2003. vii + 276 pp. £16.00 (pbk). ISBN 1 85984 492 8.
• Reviewed by Barbara Hudson, University of Central Lancashire, UK
DOI: 10.1177/1362480606065917
These two volumes are written by political theorists who are prominent in
current debates about principles of justice and the nature of injustice. Seyla
Benhabib and Nancy Fraser are well known to US and UK writers on crime and
398
Theoretical Criminology 10(3)
justice; Axel Honneth is perhaps less well known to English-speaking scholars
but is an influential political/social philosopher in mainland Europe. All three
are rigorous but sympathetic critics of Jurgen Habermas, and have adopted
versions of his ‘discourse ethics’ as the basic principle of justice.
Liberal political theory has propounded theories and principles of justice...
397
attorneys are like directors and script-writers, jurors are like movie viewers,
pp. 85–6) for which postmodern theory is superfluous. On the other hand,
chapter 7 on ‘Restorative Justice and Victim Offender Mediation’ is
exemplary—the authors carefully describe the benefits and limitations of these
conventional (ABA-approved!) programs, and then set forth numerous ‘critical
criminological challenges’ based on the works of many of the French theorists
discussed at the outset of the book (Lacan, Baudrillard, Derrida, Kristeva,
Barthes, Lyotard, Deleuze and Guattari); one of the primary reasons this
chapter works so well is that the authors have elsewhere published on
this topic. A final substantive chapter 8 (preceding a brief concluding summa-
tion) is likewise admirable for its account of social movements, including
innocence projects and intentional communities—here the authors are able to
explicate their fascination with chaos theory as an explanatory model for
criminology.
The authors conclude by recalling that
the project . . . postmodern scholars set for themselves was to probe the
fluidity of identity as juxtaposed to organizational and cultural expectations.
Their elegant deconstruction of the institutions and practices of social
control, general identity, power, and language promised to destabilize long
held theoretical and political conceptualization of human consciousness
and desire.
(p. 135)
In an effort to overcome the criticism that postmodern theory is negative and
impractical, the authors of this volume explore the promise of postmodern
theory to generate alternative, liberating, transformative practices in the field of
criminal law. Acknowledging that their work is but an initial step—‘There is
still much more to do’ (p. 139)—the authors invite readers to engage French
critical theorists and to imagine the possibilities for applications in the struggle
for a more humane society.
Seyla Benhabib
The Rights of Others: Aliens, Residents and Citizens
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. xii + 251 pp. £15.99
(pbk). ISBN 0 521 53860 2; (hbk) ISBN 0 521 83134 2.
Nancy Fraser and Axel Honneth
Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange
London: Verso, 2003. vii + 276 pp. £16.00 (pbk). ISBN 1 85984 492 8.
• Reviewed by Barbara Hudson, University of Central Lancashire, UK
DOI: 10.1177/1362480606065917
These two volumes are written by political theorists who are prominent in
current debates about principles of justice and the nature of injustice. Seyla
Benhabib and Nancy Fraser are well known to US and UK writers on crime and
398
Theoretical Criminology 10(3)
justice; Axel Honneth is perhaps less well known to English-speaking scholars
but is an influential political/social philosopher in mainland Europe. All three
are rigorous but sympathetic critics of Jurgen Habermas, and have adopted
versions of his ‘discourse ethics’ as the basic principle of justice.
Liberal political theory has propounded theories and principles of justice...
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