{"id":{"repo_id":"catania","oai_identifier":"oai:www.iris.unict.it:20.500.11769/582741"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/catania/oai:www.iris.unict.it:20.500.11769/582741","repository":{"repo_id":"catania","name":"Università degli Studi di Catania","base_url":"https://www.iris.unict.it/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Cooperating As Peers: Labor Justice Between Distributive and Relational Equality","abstract":"Despite its relevance, work is underrepresented in debates about social justice. In this way, political philosophy remains distant from real people s lives, and cannot address objectionable forms of work. The thesis contributes to fill in this gap, addressing the problem of labor justice with particular attention to labor inequalities. First, the thesis shows that the resources provided by most contemporary views of justice are only partly equipped to address problems of labor justice. Normative models belonging to various traditions are scrutinized: distributive justice, critical theory, relational egalitarianism, contemporary normative debates about work. The thesis considers each of these models both as a critical interlocutor and as a potential resource in the conceptualization of labor justice. Three paradigmatic cases of labor inequality are thus considered to assess these models through a contributive justice test : dirty work , the gendered division of labor, and technological heteromation. The analysis shows that without some conception of equality, we have no tools to address objectionable forms of division of labor. And in order to avoid a view of meaningful work for the few , concerns for autonomy and freedom are to be complemented with concerns for equality. Second, the thesis suggests an alternative perspective based on the norm of contributive parity . According to this ideal, unjust forms of work are to be changed when they prevent people from contributing to social cooperation as peers, not because they do not meet some inherent meaning of work or fail to fulfill some predefined idea of human nature (pluralism). This way, this conception of labor justice avoids the paternalistic consequences and moral solipsism of some theories of meaningful work, while still defending the need for justice at work. Overall, this norm contributes to shift the focus of the debate from problems of the inherent meaning of work and self-realization, to the problem of fair cooperation. Since requirements of labor justice cannot be met by free occupational choice or income redistribution alone, but relate also to social relationships, decision-making processes, and the nature of tasks and occupations, the thesis advocates a multidimensional conception of labor justice. Contributive parity requires that in order for all to contribute to social cooperation as peers, at least four dimensions of labor justice should be satisfied: economic- distributive (equal freedom from material need for real free occupational choice, and fair access to the product of one s labor as well as to social wealth), social-relational (being treated as equals both in labor interactions and in labor structures), political-democratic (taking part in decisions that concern one s work), and contributive (the quality and quantity of one s labor). Contributive parity is best realized when these dimensions of labor justice are realized jointly: it is not sufficient that wage is fair, one should consider also workers status, voice and contributive justice (multidimensionality). This way, concerns for distributive justice are not merely dismissed, but rather integrated into a more comprehensive framework. The concept of contributive parity is a reinterpretation in the context of labor justice of the norm of participatory parity proposed by Nancy Fraser (2003). The thesis autonomously amends and develops some of her intuitions into the direction of a multidimensional, egalitarian, deontological, and pluralist view of labor justice, while incorporating insights from relational egalitarianism and distributive justice into a more comprehensive framework. Overall, far from offering a fully-fledged theory of labor justice, the ideal of contributive parity is intended to provide a critical-normative standard that helps to assess existing forms of division of labor and competing strategies of labor justice, and therefore to envisage alternative, fair forms of work.","abstract_html":"Despite its relevance, work is underrepresented in debates about social justice. In this way, political philosophy remains distant from real people s lives, and cannot address objectionable forms of work. The thesis contributes to fill in this gap, addressing the problem of labor justice with particular attention to labor inequalities. First, the thesis shows that the resources provided by most contemporary views of justice are only partly equipped to address problems of labor justice. Normative models belonging to various traditions are scrutinized: distributive justice, critical theory, relational egalitarianism, contemporary normative debates about work. The thesis considers each of these models both as a critical interlocutor and as a potential resource in the conceptualization of labor justice. Three paradigmatic cases of labor inequality are thus considered to assess these models through a contributive justice test : dirty work , the gendered division of labor, and technological heteromation. The analysis shows that without some conception of equality, we have no tools to address objectionable forms of division of labor. And in order to avoid a view of meaningful work for the few , concerns for autonomy and freedom are to be complemented with concerns for equality. Second, the thesis suggests an alternative perspective based on the norm of contributive parity . According to this ideal, unjust forms of work are to be changed when they prevent people from contributing to social cooperation as peers, not because they do not meet some inherent meaning of work or fail to fulfill some predefined idea of human nature (pluralism). This way, this conception of labor justice avoids the paternalistic consequences and moral solipsism of some theories of meaningful work, while still defending the need for justice at work. Overall, this norm contributes to shift the focus of the debate from problems of the inherent meaning of work and self-realization, to the problem of fair cooperation. Since requirements of labor justice cannot be met by free occupational choice or income redistribution alone, but relate also to social relationships, decision-making processes, and the nature of tasks and occupations, the thesis advocates a multidimensional conception of labor justice. Contributive parity requires that in order for all to contribute to social cooperation as peers, at least four dimensions of labor justice should be satisfied: economic- distributive (equal freedom from material need for real free occupational choice, and fair access to the product of one s labor as well as to social wealth), social-relational (being treated as equals both in labor interactions and in labor structures), political-democratic (taking part in decisions that concern one s work), and contributive (the quality and quantity of one s labor). Contributive parity is best realized when these dimensions of labor justice are realized jointly: it is not sufficient that wage is fair, one should consider also workers status, voice and contributive justice (multidimensionality). This way, concerns for distributive justice are not merely dismissed, but rather integrated into a more comprehensive framework. The concept of contributive parity is a reinterpretation in the context of labor justice of the norm of participatory parity proposed by Nancy Fraser (2003). The thesis autonomously amends and develops some of her intuitions into the direction of a multidimensional, egalitarian, deontological, and pluralist view of labor justice, while incorporating insights from relational egalitarianism and distributive justice into a more comprehensive framework. Overall, far from offering a fully-fledged theory of labor justice, the ideal of contributive parity is intended to provide a critical-normative standard that helps to assess existing forms of division of labor and competing strategies of labor justice, and therefore to envisage alternative, fair forms of work.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["CELENTANO, DENISE"],"institution":"Università degli studi di Catania","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["CARANTI, Luigi","SCIACCA, Fabrizio"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-11-30","date_published":"2018-11-30","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:35:03Z","subjects":["labor justice, philosophy of work, contributive justice, distributive justice, ethics of work, post-work, meaningful work, relational egalitarianism, critical theory, status inequality, recognition"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess","license:PUBBLICO - Pubblico con Copyright","license uri:iris.PUB02"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/582741","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Celentano, Denise","CARANTI, Luigi","SCIACCA, Fabrizio"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["CELENTANO, DENISE"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-11-30"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Università degli studi di Catania","place:Catania"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["labor justice, philosophy of work, contributive justice, distributive justice, ethics of work, post-work, meaningful work, relational egalitarianism, critical theory, status inequality, recognition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess","license:PUBBLICO - Pubblico con Copyright","license uri:iris.PUB02"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/582741"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Despite its relevance, work is underrepresented in debates about social justice. In this way, political philosophy remains distant from real people s lives, and cannot address objectionable forms of work. The thesis contributes to fill in this gap, addressing the problem of labor justice with particular attention to labor inequalities. First, the thesis shows that the resources provided by most contemporary views of justice are only partly equipped to address problems of labor justice. Normative models belonging to various traditions are scrutinized: distributive justice, critical theory, relational egalitarianism, contemporary normative debates about work. The thesis considers each of these models both as a critical interlocutor and as a potential resource in the conceptualization of labor justice. Three paradigmatic cases of labor inequality are thus considered to assess these models through a contributive justice test : dirty work , the gendered division of labor, and technological heteromation. The analysis shows that without some conception of equality, we have no tools to address objectionable forms of division of labor. And in order to avoid a view of meaningful work for the few , concerns for autonomy and freedom are to be complemented with concerns for equality. Second, the thesis suggests an alternative perspective based on the norm of contributive parity . According to this ideal, unjust forms of work are to be changed when they prevent people from contributing to social cooperation as peers, not because they do not meet some inherent meaning of work or fail to fulfill some predefined idea of human nature (pluralism). This way, this conception of labor justice avoids the paternalistic consequences and moral solipsism of some theories of meaningful work, while still defending the need for justice at work. Overall, this norm contributes to shift the focus of the debate from problems of the inherent meaning of work and self-realization, to the problem of fair cooperation. Since requirements of labor justice cannot be met by free occupational choice or income redistribution alone, but relate also to social relationships, decision-making processes, and the nature of tasks and occupations, the thesis advocates a multidimensional conception of labor justice. Contributive parity requires that in order for all to contribute to social cooperation as peers, at least four dimensions of labor justice should be satisfied: economic- distributive (equal freedom from material need for real free occupational choice, and fair access to the product of one s labor as well as to social wealth), social-relational (being treated as equals both in labor interactions and in labor structures), political-democratic (taking part in decisions that concern one s work), and contributive (the quality and quantity of one s labor). Contributive parity is best realized when these dimensions of labor justice are realized jointly: it is not sufficient that wage is fair, one should consider also workers status, voice and contributive justice (multidimensionality). This way, concerns for distributive justice are not merely dismissed, but rather integrated into a more comprehensive framework. The concept of contributive parity is a reinterpretation in the context of labor justice of the norm of participatory parity proposed by Nancy Fraser (2003). The thesis autonomously amends and develops some of her intuitions into the direction of a multidimensional, egalitarian, deontological, and pluralist view of labor justice, while incorporating insights from relational egalitarianism and distributive justice into a more comprehensive framework. Overall, far from offering a fully-fledged theory of labor justice, the ideal of contributive parity is intended to provide a critical-normative standard that helps to assess existing forms of division of labor and competing strategies of labor justice, and therefore to envisage alternative, fair forms of work.","Le travail est sous-représenté dans les débats sur la justice sociale. De cette façon, la philosophie politique révèle son impuissance face à formes critiquables de travail. La thèse contribue à combler cette lacune, en considérant le problème de la justice du travail avec une attention particulière aux inégalités du travail. Premièrement, la thèse montre que les théories de la justice ne sont que partiellement équipées pour considérer la justice du travail. La thèse analyse des modèles normatifs de plusieurs traditions : justice distributive, théorie critique, égalitarisme relationnel, perspectives normatives du travail. La thèse considère chaque modèle à la fois comme un interlocuteur critique et comme une ressource potentielle dans la conceptualisation de la justice du travail. On considère trois cas paradigmatiques d inégalité du travail, évalués à travers un « test de justice contributive » : le « sale boulot », la division genrée du travail, et l « hétéromation » technologique. L analyse montre que sans une conception d'égalité, on n'a pas d outils pour répondre à des formes contestables de division du travail. Si l on veut éviter de défendre une perspective de « meaningful work pour quelques-uns », il faut que l autonomie et la liberté s accompagnent de considérations d égalité. Deuxièmement, la thèse propose une perspective alternative centrée sur la norme de « parité contributive ». Selon cet idéal, les formes de travail injustes doivent être transformées lorsqu elles empêchent aux individus de contribuer à la coopération sociale en tant que pairs, et non parce qu elles ne se conforment pas un sens intrinsèque du travail ou une idée prédéfinie de nature humaine (pluralisme). De cette façon, cette conception de justice du travail prévient les conséquences paternalistes et le solipsisme moral de certaines théories du « meaningful work », tout en défendant la justice du travail. Globalement, cette norme contribue à recentrer le débat de problèmes concernant le sens intrinsèque du travail et la réalisation de soi, au problème de la juste coopération. Puisque les conditions de la justice du travail ne peuvent pas être satisfaites que par les principes de libre choix de l occupation ou la redistribution, mais concernent aussi les relations sociales, les processus décisionnels, et la nature des tâches et des occupations, la thèse défend une conception multidimensionnelle de justice du travail. La parité contributive demande que pour que tous puissent contribuir à la coopération sociale en tant que pairs, au moins quatre dimensions de justice du travail doivent être satisfaites : économique-distributive (égale liberté du besoin matériel pour un réél libre choix de l occupation, et juste accès au produit de son travail et de la richesse sociale) ; sociale-relationnelle (être traité.e.s comme égaux soit dans les interactions soit dans les structures du travail) ; politique-démocratique (prendre part aux décisions concernant son travail), et contributive (la qualité et la quantité du travail). La parité contributive est mieux réalisée quand ces dimensions de justice du travail sont réalisées conjointement. Le concept de parité contributive est une réinterprétation dans le contexte de la justice du travail de la norme de « parité participative » proposée par Nancy Fraser (2003). La thèse amende et développe autonomement certaines de ses intuitions, dans la direction d une conception de justice du travail multidimensionnelle, égalitaire, déontologique, et pluraliste, alors qu elle incorpore des intuitions de l égalitarisme relationnel et de la justice distributive dans un cadre plus compréhensif. Globalement, au lieu d offrir une véritable théorie de justice du travail, l idéal de parité contributive se propose d offrir un standard critique-normatif aidant à évaluer formes existantes de division du travail et stratégies de justice du travail en compétition, et donc à envisager des formes de travail alternatives."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Cooperating As Peers: Labor Justice Between Distributive and Relational Equality"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Celentano, Denise","CARANTI, Luigi","SCIACCA, Fabrizio"],"dc:creator":["CELENTANO, DENISE"],"dc:date":["2018-11-30"],"dc:description":["Despite its relevance, work is underrepresented in debates about social justice. In this way, political philosophy remains distant from real people s lives, and cannot address objectionable forms of work. The thesis contributes to fill in this gap, addressing the problem of labor justice with particular attention to labor inequalities. First, the thesis shows that the resources provided by most contemporary views of justice are only partly equipped to address problems of labor justice. Normative models belonging to various traditions are scrutinized: distributive justice, critical theory, relational egalitarianism, contemporary normative debates about work. The thesis considers each of these models both as a critical interlocutor and as a potential resource in the conceptualization of labor justice. Three paradigmatic cases of labor inequality are thus considered to assess these models through a contributive justice test : dirty work , the gendered division of labor, and technological heteromation. The analysis shows that without some conception of equality, we have no tools to address objectionable forms of division of labor. And in order to avoid a view of meaningful work for the few , concerns for autonomy and freedom are to be complemented with concerns for equality. Second, the thesis suggests an alternative perspective based on the norm of contributive parity . According to this ideal, unjust forms of work are to be changed when they prevent people from contributing to social cooperation as peers, not because they do not meet some inherent meaning of work or fail to fulfill some predefined idea of human nature (pluralism). This way, this conception of labor justice avoids the paternalistic consequences and moral solipsism of some theories of meaningful work, while still defending the need for justice at work. Overall, this norm contributes to shift the focus of the debate from problems of the inherent meaning of work and self-realization, to the problem of fair cooperation. Since requirements of labor justice cannot be met by free occupational choice or income redistribution alone, but relate also to social relationships, decision-making processes, and the nature of tasks and occupations, the thesis advocates a multidimensional conception of labor justice. Contributive parity requires that in order for all to contribute to social cooperation as peers, at least four dimensions of labor justice should be satisfied: economic- distributive (equal freedom from material need for real free occupational choice, and fair access to the product of one s labor as well as to social wealth), social-relational (being treated as equals both in labor interactions and in labor structures), political-democratic (taking part in decisions that concern one s work), and contributive (the quality and quantity of one s labor). Contributive parity is best realized when these dimensions of labor justice are realized jointly: it is not sufficient that wage is fair, one should consider also workers status, voice and contributive justice (multidimensionality). This way, concerns for distributive justice are not merely dismissed, but rather integrated into a more comprehensive framework. The concept of contributive parity is a reinterpretation in the context of labor justice of the norm of participatory parity proposed by Nancy Fraser (2003). The thesis autonomously amends and develops some of her intuitions into the direction of a multidimensional, egalitarian, deontological, and pluralist view of labor justice, while incorporating insights from relational egalitarianism and distributive justice into a more comprehensive framework. Overall, far from offering a fully-fledged theory of labor justice, the ideal of contributive parity is intended to provide a critical-normative standard that helps to assess existing forms of division of labor and competing strategies of labor justice, and therefore to envisage alternative, fair forms of work.","Le travail est sous-représenté dans les débats sur la justice sociale. De cette façon, la philosophie politique révèle son impuissance face à formes critiquables de travail. La thèse contribue à combler cette lacune, en considérant le problème de la justice du travail avec une attention particulière aux inégalités du travail. Premièrement, la thèse montre que les théories de la justice ne sont que partiellement équipées pour considérer la justice du travail. La thèse analyse des modèles normatifs de plusieurs traditions : justice distributive, théorie critique, égalitarisme relationnel, perspectives normatives du travail. La thèse considère chaque modèle à la fois comme un interlocuteur critique et comme une ressource potentielle dans la conceptualisation de la justice du travail. On considère trois cas paradigmatiques d inégalité du travail, évalués à travers un « test de justice contributive » : le « sale boulot », la division genrée du travail, et l « hétéromation » technologique. L analyse montre que sans une conception d'égalité, on n'a pas d outils pour répondre à des formes contestables de division du travail. Si l on veut éviter de défendre une perspective de « meaningful work pour quelques-uns », il faut que l autonomie et la liberté s accompagnent de considérations d égalité. Deuxièmement, la thèse propose une perspective alternative centrée sur la norme de « parité contributive ». Selon cet idéal, les formes de travail injustes doivent être transformées lorsqu elles empêchent aux individus de contribuer à la coopération sociale en tant que pairs, et non parce qu elles ne se conforment pas un sens intrinsèque du travail ou une idée prédéfinie de nature humaine (pluralisme). De cette façon, cette conception de justice du travail prévient les conséquences paternalistes et le solipsisme moral de certaines théories du « meaningful work », tout en défendant la justice du travail. Globalement, cette norme contribue à recentrer le débat de problèmes concernant le sens intrinsèque du travail et la réalisation de soi, au problème de la juste coopération. Puisque les conditions de la justice du travail ne peuvent pas être satisfaites que par les principes de libre choix de l occupation ou la redistribution, mais concernent aussi les relations sociales, les processus décisionnels, et la nature des tâches et des occupations, la thèse défend une conception multidimensionnelle de justice du travail. La parité contributive demande que pour que tous puissent contribuir à la coopération sociale en tant que pairs, au moins quatre dimensions de justice du travail doivent être satisfaites : économique-distributive (égale liberté du besoin matériel pour un réél libre choix de l occupation, et juste accès au produit de son travail et de la richesse sociale) ; sociale-relationnelle (être traité.e.s comme égaux soit dans les interactions soit dans les structures du travail) ; politique-démocratique (prendre part aux décisions concernant son travail), et contributive (la qualité et la quantité du travail). La parité contributive est mieux réalisée quand ces dimensions de justice du travail sont réalisées conjointement. Le concept de parité contributive est une réinterprétation dans le contexte de la justice du travail de la norme de « parité participative » proposée par Nancy Fraser (2003). La thèse amende et développe autonomement certaines de ses intuitions, dans la direction d une conception de justice du travail multidimensionnelle, égalitaire, déontologique, et pluraliste, alors qu elle incorpore des intuitions de l égalitarisme relationnel et de la justice distributive dans un cadre plus compréhensif. Globalement, au lieu d offrir une véritable théorie de justice du travail, l idéal de parité contributive se propose d offrir un standard critique-normatif aidant à évaluer formes existantes de division du travail et stratégies de justice du travail en compétition, et donc à envisager des formes de travail alternatives."],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/582741"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Università degli studi di Catania","place:Catania"],"dc:rights":["info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess","license:PUBBLICO - Pubblico con Copyright","license uri:iris.PUB02"],"dc:subject":["labor justice, philosophy of work, contributive justice, distributive justice, ethics of work, post-work, meaningful work, relational egalitarianism, critical theory, status inequality, recognition"],"dc:title":["Cooperating As Peers: Labor Justice Between Distributive and Relational Equality"],"dc:type":["info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:35:03Z"}