The readings in Part VIII present a lot of viewpoints on “ethical issues related to the structure of society and the practices of government.” Which ideas from these twelve short selections do you think provide the most interesting approaches to the structure of society or the practice of government? Explain why you think this.

Exploring Varied Perspectives- Ethical Considerations in Societal Structure and Governance Practices

Part VIII offers insight into how government practices and the structure of society create ethical issues and the ethical issues that arise from the structure and government policies. I think Iris Young offers the most interesting approaches to the structure of society and the practice of government because it explains the realities that create ethical issues in society based on what the society and government expect from the people. For example, Iris Young argues that there are five faces of oppression in society: exploitation, powerlessness, marginalization, violence, and cultural imperialism (Cahn, 2019). Iris Young provides an interesting approach to the structure of society and the practice of government by describing how the people in power systematically exploit the disadvantaged, leading to a societal structure where the results of people’s labor are transferred to a specific social group to benefit the group. Exploitation creates powerlessness for the disadvantaged group because they are forced to take orders from the social group that benefits from their labor to continue earning the income they need to survive. Iris Young’s explanation of the five faces of oppression also provides an approach to understanding intersectionality, which is one of the ethical issues related to the structure of society and government practices. According to Shlasko (2015), intersectionality includes the connection between systems of oppression for marginalized and privileged identities as they influence experience and identity. Therefore, intersectionality can arise from the relationship between the five faces of oppression proposed by Iris Young. For instance, intersectionality can arise from marginalization and cultural imperialism, which create powerlessness, exploitation, and the threat of violence as the exploited groups push to achieve freedom and regain power.

 References

Cahn, S. M. (2019). The world of philosophy an introductory reader. Oxford University Press.

Shlasko, D. (2015). Using the five faces of oppression to teach about interlocking systems of oppression. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(3), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2015.1057061