Exploitation, Injustice and Violence

Abstract

The principal aim of this chapter is to put to test the theory offered in the previous chapter, where the need to rethink the relationship between injustice and violence was elaborated. To sum up, the orthodox view defends a direct approach, where an injustice is simply but controversially renamed or redefined in terms of an act of violence. Because violence is morally abhorrent, it is tempting to rename acts of injustice as acts of violence; indeed this polemical move is popular amongst those who want to emphasize the brutality and immorality of injustice. And yet, although it is true that often an injustice cannot be distinguished from an act of violence, ultimately there is no benefit in simply replacing one term for the other. For sure, words count, but is claiming synonymy between injustice and violence enough? Is there more to the relationship between injustice and violence than a verbal dispute? These issues cannot be settled in abstract, which is why the focus of this chapter will be on a specific illustration of injustice, namely, exploitation.