Inequality, difference, articulation

Abstract

This article studies the tensions and overlaps between inequality and difference starting from two complementary questions: When do differences become politically relevant? How do inequalities and differences correlate? The argument is first developed through a critical discussion of three influential approaches in contemporary academic and political debates: the recognition-redistribution paradigm, as developed by N. Fraser and A. Honneth, the categorical inequalities approach of C. Tilly and the horizontal-vertical inequalities approach of F. Stewart. In spite of their divergences, these three approaches present a common conceptual limitation, which is to treat dynamic differences as binary and fixed categories: black-whites, men-women, mestizos-indigenous, etc. To overcome this deficit, I develop in the present article, starting from the concept of articulation, an analytical matrix according to which differences represent positionalities or sites of enunciation within hierarchical social relations. The nexus between differences and inequalities is illustrated by the recent articulation of the quilombolas in Brazil.