Recognition, participation, justification or internal critique? Towards a fourth political-philosophical way|Riconoscimento, partecipazione, giustificazione o critica interna?: Verso una quarta via politico-filosofica

The essay presents and problematizes the «political turn» that Rainer Forst suggests for political philosophy in order to continue, from a different theoretical perspective, the controversy between Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser concerning the preference of recognition or participation as a paradigm of justice. Having defined the historical premises and the main conceptual elements of this debate, the essay highlights the differences between Honneth's theory of recognition, the bi-dymensional conception of justice developed by Fraser and the critique of the relationships of justification articulated by Forst. The comparative analysis of these different theoretical approaches allows to show and appreciate the merits of a negative theory of justice, which combines a multi-dymensional analysis of the existing asymmetries of power - on an economic, cultural and political level - and an internal critique of the relative (and possible) narratives of justification.