CONTENTS - VOL. 20, NUMBER 2,
JUNE 2010
A CONTEMPORARY THEORY OF DEMOCRACY &
JUSTICE
MAREK HRUBEC: Introduction: A Theory of Democracy
and Justice ... 91
ERAZIM KOHÁK: Doom and Democracy: An Essay in Political Soteriology ... 95
JOHN RYDER: Democracy and Common Interests across Borders ... 108
MARTIN ŠIMSA: The Role and Nature of Freedom in Two Normative Theories of
Democracy ... 114
ĽUBOMÍR DUNAJ: Reflections on Justice under the Context of Globalisation ...
124
MAREK HRUBEC: The Law of Peoples and Global Justice. Beyond the Liberal
Nationalism of John Rawls ... 135
ZUZANA UHDE: On Sources of Structural Injustice. A Feminist Reading of the
Theory of Iris M. Young ... 151
ARTICLES & ESSAYS
BILAL AHMAD BHAT & TAREAK AHMAD RATHER: Child
Labour in Kashmiri Society: A Socio-human Rights Study ... 167
A. O. OLUTAYO: Education Infrastructure and Unsustainable Development in Africa
... 183
ABSTRACTS
Introduction: A Theory of Democracy and
Justice
MAREK HRUBEC
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0010-3
E-mail: hrubec@ff.cuni.cz
Pp. 91-94
DOOM AND DEMOCRACY: AN ESSAY IN POLITICAL
SOTERIOLOGY
ERAZIM KOHÁK
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0011-2
E-mail: kohak.e@ecn.cz
Abstract: The essay explores the philosophical (metatheoretical)
presuppositions of democratic social strategy in the current "apocalyptic
age". Here democracy means a way of life based on the assumption that
individual freedom, mutual respect and fundamental good will toward the other
can be taken for granted; as a feasible and a desirable way of ordering human
affairs. In this broadly cultural sense, democracy is an outgrowth of a deeply
rooted consensus on the posture of respect and good will toward all. Yet
democracy, with its Enlightenment heritage of sober rationality, seems
ill-equipped for dealing with apocalyptic threats. That what makes our age
apocalyptic is truth denied. The arrogant posture of omnipotence leads to
paralysis. A democratic strategy needs to be one that has the courage to face
the truth and the commitment to deal heart and will with the finite tasks we
recognise once we give up the arrogance of infinite ones.
Keywords: Democracy; apocalyptic age; harmony;
anxiety; European cultural heritage; meaning of life; trust; environmental
degradation
Pp. 95-107
DEMOCRACY AND COMMON INTERESTS ACROSS BORDERS
JOHN RYDER
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0012-1
E-mail: john.ryder@suny.edu
Abstract: Our conception of the nation state, and
the borders that separate nations, is an anachronism. It derives from the 17th
century origins of the European state, and the general roughly Newtonian ideas
of the time, according to which individual things are entirely distinct from one
another. If we shift our fundamental ideas and consider things, including
nations, as relational, then borders take on different functions than they
traditionally do. Furthermore, if nations are constituted in their relations
with one another, then there are serious implications for our conception of
democracy in general and international relations conducted democratically.
Democracy, and democratic international relations, consists of the pursuit of
common interests across borders and boundaries, domestic and international.
Keywords: Democracy; relationality; international
relations; foreign policy; borders
Pp. 108-113
THE ROLE AND NATURE OF FREEDOM IN TWO
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF DEMOCRACY
MARTIN ŠIMSA
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0013-0
E-mail: Martin.simsa@ujep.cz, simsaster@gmail.com
Abstract: The article examines the role and the
nature of freedom in two normative concepts of democracy, in the work of Hans
Kelsen and of Emanuel Rádl. Both authors wrote their work on democracy between
the two world wars. Kelsen formulated his concept of democracy in On the
Substance and Value of Democracy (1920), a book which has clearly been
influenced by the political thinking of Kant and Rousseau. Kelsen shares
Rousseau's idea of general will and on this basis the principle of majority. Rádl
outlines his theory of freedom and democracy in The War between the Czechs and
the Germans (1928), Nationality as a Scientific Problem (1929) and On German
Revolution (1933). Rádl distinguishes between three types of freedom and
democracy: natural, majority and contractual. Rádl asserts that only in the
third type of freedom, in which freedom is connected with responsibility and the
law is freedom true. He considers the first type of freedom to be anarchical
freedom, which can easily be misused. The second type of freedom is better than
the first, but worse than the third. The author compares these concepts of
freedom and democracy then and today and shows how they are linked to the
questions of justice and solidarity at national and cosmopolitan levels.
Keywords: Freedom; norms; democracy; Rádl;
Kelsen
Pp. 114-123
REFLECTIONS ON JUSTICE UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF
GLOBALISATION
ĽUBOMÍR DUNAJ
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0014-z
E-mail: lubomir.dunaj@gmail.com
Abstract: This paper deals with the need to
change the way in which we consider justice in connection with globalisation. It
analyses injustice in countries with developed capitalism, employing the work of
Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser. The paper highlights the importance of using
"critical theory" in relation to developing an acceptable
understanding of the term justice, and using "critical theory" in
conjunction with Hans Herbert Kögler's "philosophical hermeneutics".
In order to adequately investigate contemporary human civilization it is
necessary to enrich our knowledge by investigating "civilisational analysis"
(Johann P. Arnason).
Keywords: Globalisation; capitalism; critical
theory; civilization analysis; liberalism
Pp. 124-134
THE LAW OF PEOPLES AND GLOBAL JUSTICE. BEYOND
THE LIBERAL NATIONALISM OF JOHN RAWLS
MAREK HRUBEC
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0015-y
E-mail: marek.hrubec@gmail.com
Abstract: The paper deals with the relation of a
theory of international justice, specifically John Rawls's philosophy of the law
of peoples, and a theory of global justice. In the first part, the paper
outlines Rawls's main theses on the international conception of the law of
peoples. The second part concerns a problem found in segments of Rawls's theory,
specifically his concept of a social contract-contractualism. This problem
inadequately approaches the relationship between the individual and the
community. The third part deals with the inconsistent points in Rawls's theory
contained in part two, i.e. his principles of justice selected with the aid of
social contract. In the fourth part, the paper concentrates on the consequences
of these limitations for a socially distributive dimension of justice or as an
approach for dealing with disproportionate global inequalities. The last part
formulates the causes of the limitations of Rawls's theory of international
justice and points out the need for a global justice which is socially and
inter-culturally considerate.
Keywords: International justice; global justice;
Rawls; recognition
Pp. 135-150
ON SOURCES OF STRUCTURAL INJUSTICE: A FEMINIST
READING OF THE THEORY OF IRIS M. YOUNG
ZUZANA UHDE
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0016-x
E-mail: zuzana.uhde@soc.cas.cz
Abstract: The author focuses on a critical theory
of justice and democracy by Iris Marion Young. Young's normative approach to
justice and the institutional framework of inclusive democracy develops out of
her critique of injustice. In the first section the author explains Young's
approach to structural injustice, which she conceptualizes in terms of
domination and oppression. In the second part the author elucidates Young's
concept of the politics of difference and inclusive democracy. In this context
Young differentiates between social and cultural groups; this enables her to
take into consideration the political significance of group differences. The
author goes on to present Young's critical theory of gender based on the notion
of women as a social structural group. Young argues that gender refers to social
structures that shape relations of subordination and oppression rather than to
identity. In the final part the author discusses the application of Young's
concept of structural injustice at a transnational level. Finally, she concludes
with an outline for a feminist reading of the concept of structural injustice in
a transnational context.
Keywords: Iris M. Young; critical theory of
justice; oppression; domination; feminism; transnational context.
Pp. 151-166
CHILD LABOUR IN KASHMIRI SOCIETY: A
SOCIO-HUMAN RIGHTS STUDY
BILAL AHMAD BHAT & TAREAK AHMAD RATHER
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0017-9
E-mail: bilalccas@gmail.com
Abstract: The Constitution of India guarantees
fundamental rights and the full freedom to enjoy childhood. In spite of that
millions of children are being put to arduous work for short and narrow gains.
By 1989, the standards concerning children were brought together in a single
legal instrument agreed to by the international community. It unambiguously
spelt out the rights to which every child is entitled, regardless of place of
birth, descent, sex, religion, or social origin. A number of aspects, such as
gender, family background, cultural acceptance, issues of health and recreation,
the legal aspect and so on, have been covered. The life worlds of working
children, legal protection to children from exploitation and the human rights
perspective of child labour is the main focus of this article.
Keywords: Constitution; human rights; labour;
handicrafts; Kashmir
Pp. 167-182
EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND UNSUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
A. O. OLUTAYO
DOI: 10.2478/v10023-010-0018-8
E-mail: lantopamtu@yahoo.com
Abstract: Rather than creating the appropriate
social relations for the means of production, the perspective on development in
Africa has hinged on "infrastructure for development" thus leading to
underdevelopment. This is because the social relation of infrastructure for
development is parasitic and thus cannot reproduce itself. What it does is to
accumulate primitive capital for conspicuous consumption rather than the
creation of reproductive capital. Consequently, a dependency relation with the
source(s) of primitive capital accumulation is almost inevitable if the dominant
group in the relationship, with its foundation in the acquisition of formal
education, is to continue to subsist. Ironically, this incapacitates the
subordinate group(s) as their recruitment processes are conditioned by the
powerful ideological state, now global, apparatuses. The paper shows how this
process works through the empirical examples of the acclaimed "success"
story of Botswana and the perceived "failed" state of Nigeria.
Keywords: Education; infrastructure; development;
underdevelopment; Nigeria, Botswana
Pp. 183-198
