Talk sponsored by the Philosophy Department, University of Guelph. 

Abstract:  Much of the debate about “global justice” has taken place within a liberal framework. Yet, there are familiar reasons to worry that liberalism might be bad for women. Feminist theorists have spent decades urging caution with respect to the effects of the public private distinction, perceptions about what counts as “knowledge”, and worries about essentialism.  This paper argues that recent debates about global justice inherit these liberal ills, and that feminists should be concerned about the implications of the debate for women, and moreover about the ability of the global justice framing to overcome these concerns.