Discursive and institutional standards of justice in the modern world-system

Abstract

In the article the essence of standards of justice in the modern world-system is outlined in a general way. It is shown that these standards emerged in the European capitalist world-economy in consequence of the French Revolution. Standards of justice are interpreted as ideological semantic constructions that have been institutionalized simultaneously with establishment, first, of the ideology of liberalism as the geoculture of the modern world-system and, second, — of model of liberal state. Standards of justice are considered within theoretical theses and methodological guiding lines of I. Wallerstein's theory of the modern world-system. However, some theoretical theses of J. Alexander's civil society theory are also used to supplement and concretize considered in the article problems with some new arguments. For instance, Alexander's conceptual toolkit helped to distinguish discursive and institutional standards of justice. Reasons and peculiarities of establishment of standards of justice are considered and role these standards played in the providing of development of the modern world-system is shown. In particular, it is elucidated that owing to these standards elites of the core countries of the modern world-system managed to redirect the rebellion energy of the lower strata from antisystemic revolutions to struggle for inclusion to liberal state. This helped to calm the lower strata down and to guard structures of the modern world-system against essential damages. Standards of justice contributed to legitimation of social order of the modern world-system. Full integration of the lower strata to newly created national societies reinforced social solidarity, and this strengthened the core states even more. It is shown that for today in particular countries of periphery and semi-periphery trends of revision of current standards of justice and their replacement by alternative semantic constructions become visible.