The epistemic foundations of injustice: lessons from the Young Marx

This article intends to show to what extent the early Marxian categories of alienation, ideology and proletariat can serve to better understand current forms of epistemic injustice, as well as, conversely, how the latter can illuminate some unclear aspects of such concepts. In the first part, it will be explained the extent to which Marx’s concept of alienation accounts for the experience of an individual in a world to whose norms she is subject, but which she cannot recognise as her own. It will be shown that Marx finds the answer in a form of emancipatory praxis linked to a transformative appropriation of social reality. In order to deepen the understanding of this idea of emancipation, the second part will analyse the Marxian concept of the proletariat. It will be argued that taking up some considerations about the Hegelian figure of the rabble, Marx distinguishes a “liberal” from a “human” form of emancipation. In the third part, a contemporary example will be used to show the usefulness of the young Marx’s analyses concerning this dimension of emancipation struggles. In the fourth part, these ideas will be developed further through the concept of epistemic injustice, which has gained great importance in the recent studies that Critical Theory carries out of the different socio-epistemic blocks of an ideological nature that prevent articulating, communicating and overcoming negative experiences that hinder individual self-realisation. In this sense, it will be shown the importance of the Marxian categories of alienation and ideology to theoretically address current forms of epistemic injustice, and, in relation to this, it will be explained the transformative and constitutive function of the excluded in the creation of new sectors of reality through which their demands can be met.

Semiocide: An introduction to semiotics of destruction of the meaningful

The aim of this article is to expand on the concept of semiocide which, in broad terms, is the destruction of signs and semiosis. Taking its point of departure from Ivar Puura’s article on the concept, this essay attempts to find conceptual parallels and historical examples of the term, expanding its range through a critique of its original conception. Departing from the initial conservatism of Puura’s definition, the article will argue for a more diverse understanding of the term, suggesting a view that positions semiocide not just as a descriptor for lamentable losses, but also as a potential avenue for emancipatory praxis, whereby established, hegemonic and oppressive meanings can be undermined and new possibilities of representation and identity explored.

From the Virocene to the Lovecene epoch: multispecies justice as critical praxis for Virocene disruptions and vulnerabilities

In the Virocene epoch, global pandemics such as COVID-19 disrupt the world order organized by capitalism and racial privilege, making clear the unsustainability of 'normal' ways of organizing society and nature. Despite its failure to address these disruptions, the existing capitalist-racist system attempts to reproduce itself, posing greater risks of disease, inequalities, and injustice to the most vulnerable human and nonhuman populations. The Virocene epoch makes these workings visible, and challenges both hegemonic and counterhegemonic ways of organizing human–nature relations. Political ecology requires new emancipatory theoretical-political strategies firmly grounded in a theory of justice that embodies social and ecological rights in order to imaginatively produce new ways to counter such social and ecological crises arising from the global process of capitalism and viral activities. To this end, political ecology must develop a universal perspective on the justice-rights-power nexus with an explicit moral basis to enhance its emancipatory praxis against the globalizing challenges of the Virocene, without reproducing existing vulnerabilities and without dismissing hegemonic and counter-hegemonic narratives in the name of otherness, difference, universalism or sameness. In this article, I reconfigure the justice-rights-power nexus to dismantle oppression and injustice in pursuit of regenerative solutions. I chart an alternate 'multispecies theory of justice' building upon love as an embodiment of the moral foundations for critical multispecies justice praxis, which produces another world of diverse, interconnected communities committed to social and ecological wellbeing. The 'Lovecene' is an aspirational planetary-order shaped by multispecies (human and non-human) equality and justice that transcends the anthropocentricism of current periodizations of planetary-level social and economic change. It attempts to overcome the limitations of many political-ecological theories of justice centered on notions of 'right order', 'fairness', 'distribution', and 'opportunities and capabilities', thereby successfully addressing the sociological and ecological vulnerabilities of the Virocene.Key Words: Virocene; political economy of health; capitalism; racism, vulnerability, pandemic

Researching on the edge: emancipatory praxis for social justice

Purpose This paper aims to provoke a conversation in marketing scholarship about the overlooked political nature of doing research, particularly for those who research issues of social (in)justice. It suggests a paradigmatic shift in how researchers might view and operationalise social justice work in marketing. Emancipatory praxis framework offers scholars an alternative way to think about the methodology, design and politics of researching issues of social relevance. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper drawing on critical theory to argue for a new methodological shift towards emancipatory praxis. Findings As social justice research involves a dialectical relationship between crises and critique, the concept of emancipation acts as a methodological catalyst for furthering debate about social (in)justice in marketing. This paper identifies a set of methodological troubles and challenges that may disrupt the boundaries of knowledge-making. A set of methodological responses to these issues illustrating how emancipatory research facilitates social action is outlined. Research limitations/implications Emancipatory praxis offers marketing scholars an alternative methodological direction in the hope that more impactful and useful ways of knowing can emerge. Practical implications The paper is intended to change the ways that researchers work in practical and concrete terms on issues of social (in)justice. Social implications Although this paper is theoretical, it argues for an alternative methodological approach to research that reorients researchers towards a politicised praxis with emancipatory relevancy. Originality/value Emancipatory praxis offers a new openly politicised methodological alternative for addressing problems of social relevance in marketing. As a continuous political and emancipatory task for researchers, social justice research involves empirical encounters with politics, advocacy and democratic participation, where equality is the methodological starting point for research design and decisions as much as it is the end goal.

Subject-predicate-inversion of Gender-neutral-language: An emancipatory confusion

In this paper, I proposed a paradigm shift in Gender-Neutral-Language. The claim, which Gender-Neutral-Language can account for reality grasping and, thus, enable its actualization, is challenged; in place of an abstract reach towards social change, a more concrete emancipatory praxis must arise. Its current emancipatory prerogatives are not confronted from the standpoint of its already-established arguments but a more comprehensive standpoint of language, more specifically, of the philosophy of language.

Agrarian struggle and food system injustice in the Anglo-Caribbean: centering social reproduction by (re)turning to Creft and Fanon

This piece offers a critical commentary on the historical-systemic marginalization and food system injustice being experienced by women farmers, agro-producers, and cottage industry owners in the Caribbean. In doing so, we provide an overview of the structural barriers and systemic negligence rural working-class and cash-poor women across the Anglo-Caribbean face as a result of the ongoing trajectories of colonialism, neoliberal logics, and patriarchal norms. In addition, the piece details the disproportionate amount of (devalued) socially reproductive labor women perform within the agrarian Majority World. We end by proposing that the radical potentials, emancipatory praxis, and clarion calls for transformative change offered by the region’s very own Jacqueline Creft and Frantz Fanon are revolutionary voices to pay heed to with respect to advancing a sustainable and (gender) just Caribbean future.

Emancipatory Praxis for Cervical Cancer Health Equity in Guatemala

This study explores barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening among indigenous Maya women in Guatemala. Eight weeks of observation, active participation, informal interviews, and semistructured interviews with community organizers were analyzed using Leininger's 4-phase process to elucidate five themes: fear/shame, “machismo,” education/experience, cost, and self-love. Results suggest sustainable cervical cancer screening may be possible through cultural humility, collaboration, balance of power, and emancipatory praxis. Practicing these concepts may help to build knowledge and trust between providers and community, thereby lessening oppression, empowering women, and reducing cervical cancer health disparities and disease burden among Guatemalan Maya women.

For an Emancipatory Animal Sociology

Sociologists have contributed to the development of the animal studies field in recent decades. However, many of these ventures have been anthropocentric, stopping short of sociological calls for animal liberation despite the fact that critical sociological concepts are often the (unspoken) antecedents of such work. Here, we present a systematic review of peer-reviewed sociological articles on human–animal relationships since 1979. Our analysis identified key themes supporting charges of anthropocentrism, but also aspects of politicised animal sociology. Based on this we call for sociological animal studies to incorporate a specifically Emancipatory Animal Sociology: an approach grounded in a social justice and emancipatory praxis that explicitly and critically engages with the material conditions of animals’ lives, taking into account the experiences and knowledge of activists and others working directly with animals and, where possible, centres the animals themselves.