- Title
- Iris Marion Young, political responsibility and the politics of ethical consumption
- Creator
- McDonald, Bronwyn
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2017
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This thesis explores the politics of ethical consumption by developing a unique approach to understanding the ethics of consumption through the lens of political philosopher Iris Marion Young’s work. The aim of the thesis is to develop an approach that treats ethical consumption as a form of political responsibility. It does so by taking the theory of political responsibility developed by Young and, in conjunction with her other work, applies it to a consideration of the multifaceted phenomenon of ethical consumption. Over the past thirty years the phenomenon of ethical consumption has proved challenging insofar as there is little agreement as to its definition or application in practice. In part, this has been because of the tendency for such discussions to remain within particular disciplinary frameworks. One of the key contributions of this thesis is to develop an approach that goes beyond the particularities of these frameworks and looks to combine appropriately relevant insights. In effect, this thesis adopts a multi-disciplinary rather than a mono-disciplinary perspective. The central argument of the thesis is that ethical consumption practices are examples of successfully engaged political responsibility. To explore this, the thesis builds on the strengths of Iris Marion Young’s political philosophy to provide an account of her body of work to develop the theoretical lens of the thesis, which I have called the Irisian method. This method draws together a number of Young’s key ideas such as inclusivity, solidarity and responsibility. This Irisian method enables the research to demonstrate how Young’s theorisations of political responsibility can explain and strengthen claims of ethical consumption to political responsibility. The analysis presented in the thesis thus contributes to addressing the tension between what is perceived to be the insurmountable problem of materialist consumerism on the one hand and sustainability and the politics of ethical consumption on the other. One notable key strength of Young’s theoretical approach was her praxis, the combining of activist and scholarly politics that characterised and informed her work. This thesis argues that uniquely Irisian conceptualisations can be seen within many articulations of ethical consumption, both in academic scholarship and activist politics. On the basis of an Irisian methodology of praxis this thesis explores many unique examples of ethical consumption. In particular, it shows how lessons may be drawn from political activism that can inform our theorising of key concepts like political responsibility and ethical consumption. At the same time, the thesis contributes to the ongoing debates about what counts as ethical consumption. The Irisian analysis offered in this thesis thus provides an original contribution to the study of ethical consumption. Its Irisian approach develops a different perspective on ethical consumption that identifies a politics of responsibility at play. The application of the Irisian method in this thesis also makes an original contribution to understanding and appreciating the political significance of the work of Iris Marion Young.
- Subject
- Iris Marion Young; ethical consumption; political responsibility; political philosophy
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1333761
- Identifier
- uon:27151
- Rights
- Copyright 2017 Bronwyn McDonald
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 76 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |