Sex And Social Justice By Martha Nussbaum Summary

In Sex and Social Justice, Martha Nussbaum applies liberal feminism to the international scene. Nussbaum particularly focuses on women’s issues in the third word. Nussbaum argues that some cultural traditions pose an obstacle to women in modern societies. She continues by arguing that women should not be viewed as inferior to men, but equal. Nussbaum argues that injustice against women exists in: quality of life, emotions, religion, political liberty and participation, employment, education, and life in itself. Nussbaum begins her book with a story about a woman with small children. The woman lives in a country where she is forbidden to work, even if her survival depends on it. The woman depends on her aging father for food, but what will happen when he …show more content…
In some countries the way a woman is viewed relies solely on tradition. Nussbaum argues “To say that a practice is endorsed by tradition is bad is to risk erring by imposing one’s own way on others, who surely have their own ideas of what is right and good. To say that a practice is all right whenever local tradition endorses it as right and good is to risk erring by withholding critical judgment where real evil and oppression are surely present” (Nussbaum 4). This is a key point in Nussbaum’s argument, rooted from cultural relativism. Cultural relativism depicts that different societies have different moral codes, but no objective standard can judge a different culture as better or inferior than another. On the other hand, injustice on women that is acceptable to society is still unjust. Nussbaum advocates that there are obligations that humans have to one another to protect human dignity. The dignity at risk is that of women, because it should be equal and just as important as the dignity of men. One can agree with the author completely, because each society has its own standards. The simple fact that the standards are different than others, does not mean