Global political legitimacy and the structural power of capital

Aytaç, Uğur

doi:10.1111/josp.12464

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Workers are a structurally dominated group under contemporary capitalism: the background rules, social norms, and institutions put them into a position of collective vulnerability vis-à-vis employers (Cicerchia 2022; Gädeke 2020, 205; Gourevitch 2013, 602). Further, hegemonic conceptions of cooperation often reflect the prevalent power asymmetries in actually existing capitalist societies (Aytac 2022). Hence, adversarial, disruptive, and counterproductive behavior might be needed to improve the balance of power between the two groups.…”

Section: The Limitations Of Existing Approaches In the Political Theo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms: Worker Resistance vs. Managerial Power

Aytac

2023

Political Theory

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Shirking, the act of avoiding the demands of one’s job, is generally seen as unethical. Drawing on empirical evidence from the sociology of work, I develop a normative conception of shirking as a form of worker resistance against illegitimate managerial power. In doing so, I present a new approach to the political theory of the firm, which is more adversarial and agent-centered than available alternatives. It is more adversarial as it recognizes the political value of counterproductive and disruptive behavior in capitalist firms. It is more agent-centered because it theorizes the firm from the perspective of workers, asking what pro tanto reasons they have to shirk. I show that shirking under the structural domination of capitalism has diagnostic, agential, and epistemic values. The paper contributes to the wider methodological ambition to tailor political theorizing to the positionality of social actors by shifting attention from the institutional design of the firm to the methods of worker resistance.

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Section: The Limitations Of Existing Approaches In the Political Theo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms: Worker Resistance vs. Managerial Power

Aytac

2023

Political Theory

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“…We thank Reviewer 5 for helping us clarify this point. 6 Variants of radical realism include, e.g., Aytac (2022b), Brinn (2020), Cross (2021), Kreutz (2022), Prinz (2016), Prinz and Rossi (2017), Raekstad (2018;, Rossi (2019), and Westphal (2022). 7 Our account of ideology is loosely inspired by Williams's, but differs greatly from it: we ground the normative force of our critique in epistemic commitments, not in "an aspiration to the most basic sense of freedom" (Williams 2002, 231).…”

Section: Radical Realist Social Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Ideology Critique without Morality: A Radical Realist Approach

Aytaç

Rossi

2022

Am Polit Sci Rev

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What is the point of ideology critique? Prominent Anglo-American philosophers recently proposed novel arguments for the view that ideology critique is moral critique, and ideologies are flawed insofar as they contribute to injustice or oppression. We criticize that view and make the case for an alternative and more empirically oriented approach, grounded in epistemic rather than moral commitments. We make two related claims: (a) ideology critique can debunk beliefs and practices by uncovering how, empirically, they are produced by self-justifying power and (b) the self-justification of power should be understood as an epistemic rather than moral flaw. Drawing on the recent realist revival in political theory, we argue that this genealogical approach has more radical potential, despite being more parsimonious than morality-based approaches. We demonstrate the relative advantages of our view by discussing the results of empirical studies on the contemporary phenomenon of neopatriarchy in the Middle East and North Africa.

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Global Climate Change: Political Realism and the Case for a World Climate Bank

Bernstein

2024

International Political Theory

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The Paris Agreement’s goals cannot be achieved without sufficient funding, but the funding has been extremely inadequate. Addressing this problem innovatively, John Broome and Duncan Foley offer economic and political arguments in favor of establishing a new international institution, a World Climate Bank (WCB). The economic case for a WCB appears strong insofar as the bank’s main function would be to scale up mobilization of the financial resources needed for decarbonizing the world economy. However, Broome and Foley problematically assert that a WCB must buy up fossil fuel assets. I argue that this could lead to disastrous consequences and must be ruled out. Claims by Broome and Foley about realism play important roles in their proposal, although it is not clearly based on any particular form of realist political theory. I argue that a realistic proposal would include sound arguments, and I show that the political arguments offered by Broome and Foley involve equivocation, vagueness, and self-contradiction. I sketch a provisional political case for a World Climate Bank for Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience (WCB-MAR) satisfying certain desiderata. In the course of critiquing and revising the Broome-Foley proposal, I begin to develop a new conception of political realism. Here I aim to motivate political scientists and theorists focusing on international institutions and global justice to help develop and assess political responses to the climate crisis, including my proposal for a WCB-MAR. When doing such work, they should take full account of the gravity and urgency of the crisis. This requires them to be politically realistic in the sense discussed herein.

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Global political legitimacy and the structural power of capital

Cited by 10 publications

References 70 publications

In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms: Worker Resistance vs. Managerial Power

In Defense of Shirking in Capitalist Firms: Worker Resistance vs. Managerial Power

Ideology Critique without Morality: A Radical Realist Approach

Global Climate Change: Political Realism and the Case for a World Climate Bank

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