"Just Do It": Pragmatism and Progressive Social Change

Abstract

REX IHAT use is pragmatism for achieving progressive social vYv change? This question has been central to the recent renaissance of pragmatism within the legal academy. Not surprisingly, the scholars who have examined this question have shared a core concern: the persistent marginalization and disempowerment of certain groups in our society.' More striking, however, is the substantial agreement of these scholars that pragmatism is useful for alleviating oppression in modem America.2 In this Essay I suggest, despite the popularity of claims to the contrary, that pragmatism is of scant use for achieving progressive social change. My analysis focuses on the writings of Richard Rorty for two reasons. First, he is the acknowledged philosophical leader of the recent revival of interest in pragmatism. Second, an examination of Rorty's work uncovers important, and previously undiscussed, incon-