Reciprocity of the Oppressed

I argue that certain special obligations members of certain marginalized groups have to one another, if any such obligations exist, cannot be explained in terms of reciprocity. First, I motivate reciprocity of the oppressed (RO)––the term I’ve coined for the view that members of a particular marginalized social group have special obligations, corresponding to perfect duties, to one another grounded in reciprocity. Then, I argue that RO can, at most, generate special obligations, corresponding to imperfect duties, for members of certain marginalized groups. After, I clarify what sorts of obligations reciprocity could generate for members of certain marginalized groups and, in doing so, show that RO can vindicate only modest conclusions about the duties that members of a marginalized group have to one another

Group (periodic table) · Imperfect · Inequality · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology) · Term (time) · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Political Philosophy and Ethics