Conclusion

Abstract

Drawing on research in a wide range of fields in the social sciences and from feminist scholarship more generally, we distinguished in Equality: From Theory to Action between four main contexts where equality and/or inequality may be generated, the economic, political, cultural and affective systems. Equality contains a number of general hypotheses about inequality within each of these social systems and about the relationships between them, as well as the outline of a radical normative conception of equality, ‘equality of condition’, which can be applied either generally or to the specifics of each system. One of the core themes in Equality is the interaction of inequalities. Each of the main systems interact to promote or mitigate inequality along five key dimensions, namely (1) respect and recognition, (2) resources, (3) love, care and solidarity, (4) power, and (5) working and learning. The material in this book demonstrates quite clearly the multidimensional character of inequality within the affective system, and the ways in which inequalities in the economic, political and cultural systems impact on the affective sphere.