Justice and Tyranny: Bringing “Rural” Back into the Sociology of Food and Agriculture

an article by Keiko Tanaka (University of Kentucky, USA) published in Rural Sociology Volume 85 Issue 1 (March 2020)

Abstract

In the current polarising political climate, what constitutes just has become increasingly questioned and debated in the public arena. Tyrants seem everywhere to shape people's understanding of who belongs in communities and nation‐states and, therefore, who should be given a voice and what should be valued.

This paper unpacks the mechanisms of tyranny and the pursuit of justice in the global agri‐food system.

The first section discusses justice and tyranny as sociological concepts and practice, followed by the second section that examines two types of tyrannies in the globalised agri‐food system: neoliberal capitalism and community.

I argue that neoliberal capitalism and community are the logics for organising social relations and the sites of enacting tyrannies and justice.

Third, I argue that in the tension between capitalism and community in achieving justice, rural becomes critical both theoretically and empirically for understanding the current transformations and the future challenges for transforming agri‐food systems.

Finally, the paper concludes with possible contributions of rural sociological imaginations to shaping the discourse of justice and explore the process of justice.

Full text (PDF 19pp)

Labels:
populism, conservatism, agriculture, food_provision, capitalism,

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