Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory (Feminist Theory and Politics)

"Feminist scholars have been remaking the landscape in political theory, and in this important book some of the most important feminist political theorists provide reconstructions of those concepts most central to the tradition of political philosophy. The goal is nothing less than the construction of a blueprint for a positive feminist theory. Many of these papers are completely new; others are extensions of important earlier work; two are reprints of classic papers. The result is a progress report on the continuing feminist project to re-envision traditional political theory. As such, it constitutes essential reading not only for feminist thinkers but also for traditional philosophers and political theorists, who will need to come to terms with these contemporary critiques and re-readings."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 10 Preface and Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1 Introduction: Revision, Reconstruction, and the Challenge of the New 18 Chapter 2 Community/Sexuality/Gender: Rethinking Power 44 Chapter 3 Revisioning Freedom: Relationship, Context, and the Politics of Empowerment 68 Chapter 4 What Is Authority's Gender? 92 Chapter 5 Autonomy in the Light of Difference 112 Chapter 6 Reconstructing Democracy 134 Chapter 7 Care as a Political Concept 156 Chapter 8 Rethinking Obligation for Feminism 174 Chapter 9 Equalizing Privacy and Specifying Equality 198 Chapter 10 Privacy at Home: The Twofold Problem 210 Chapter 11 Privacy, Publicity, and Power: A Feminist Rethinking of the Public-Private Distinction 230 Chapter 12 All the Comforts of Home: The Genealogy of Community 252 Chapter 13 Reflections on Families in the Age of Murphy Brown: On Gender, Justice, and Sexuality 268 About the Book 288 About the Editors and Contributors 290 Index 294 In this important book, thirteen leading feminist political theorists provide reconstructions of central concepts in traditional Western political theory. Feminist scholars have been redrawing the landscape of political theory for over twenty-five years, but these essays aim to do more than offer feminist critiques of existing theories. Rather, they provide feminist visions of how political concepts can be reconstructed. Some of these papers are completely new; others are extensions or reformulations of ongoing work. All seek to answer the question: If feminists maintain that existing theories are problematic and exclusive in terms of gender, race, sexuality, and class, what kinds of theories should we put in their place? As such, this volume constitutes essential reading not only for feminist thinkers but also for traditional philosophers and political theorists, for whom this question presents a vital methodological, intellectual, and political challenge. During the 1960s and 1970s-a time of political and cultural ferment for many of the Western democracies-political theorists interested in identifying, analyzing, and contributing to politicized contests over the discursive meaning of core political values developed the notion of "essentially contested concepts" (Gallie 1955, Connolly 1974). This book provides feminist visions of how political concepts can be reconstructed. It offers a diversified selection of feminist analyses of concepts that are central to political theory: justice, freedom, autonomy, authority, democracy, privacy, obligation, power, community, equality, and care. Feminist political theorists are the contributors to this book, which aims to construct a blueprint for a positive feminist theory.