Dietz and Butler

Butler’s article deals mainly with the democratic project in the representation sphere. As she states in page 20, “we have an interesting political predicament, since most of the time when we hear about rights, we understand them as pertaining to individuals, or when we argue for protection against discrimination, we argue as a group or class.” This view presents people as “bounded beings,” all of whom are “distinct recognizable, delineated, subjects before the law” and a “community defined by sameness.” Essentially, Butler calls all defenders of rights and the democratic ideal to fight against this categorical and systematic configuration that has dominated political culture for years. She calls for a restructuring of this system so that every group, no matter how small, represents itself within the political sphere, so that each culture and identity is unique, recognized, celebrated, and, most importantly, heard. Ideally, every group should have its own representation instead of submitting to the misconceived, though well intentioned, representation offered by majority and privileged groups. In many ways, Butler calls for feminist politics that align with several of our previous readings. She advocates for a system where women represent themselves and their groups. The white, privileged woman and the inability to “collapse the distinction between you and me” share the role of suppressor or oppressor, though not necessarily villain, in the framework. Dietz, by contrast, focuses on liberalism. She states that within liberalism’s concept of citizenship, the human is viewed as a “rational individual” who has “intrinsic worth”, is the “bearer of formal rights,” and that society has to ensure the freedom of all its members to realize their capabilities, with which comes human equality. This system allows equal membership to the economic and social markets, somewhat regulated by government and with “the assumption that market maketh the man.” As she describes, “what makes liberalism seem politically barren to so many of its critics,” is “the vision of the citizen as the bearer of rights, democracy as the capitalist market society, and politics and representative government.” She ties this into feminist politics when she states that liberalist feminism deals with “equal access talk.” Based on her descriptions, I assume she subscribes to the viewpoint that women deserve the same rights as men but, due to their innate difference as female, also deserve certain rights to aid them in their economic and social development. For example, a woman should not have to choose between a career and children, as men are not asked to do so, so they should not be asked if they plan on having children during interviews.