Política, justiça e capitalismo: elementos para uma crítica da teoria de Axel Honneth

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate elements from which it is possible to critique the political theory of the German thinker Axel Honneth, mainly in his most recent developments consolidated in the work Freedom's Right. In this sense, it seeks to elaborate an evaluation of the critical theory model developed in this work, in which Honneth offers a comprehensive theoretical understanding in which he tries to link social theory and theory of justice. With this objective, the research performs, in the first moment, a reconstruction of Honnethian thought in order to unveil the main characteristics of its model of critical theory, to then understand Freedom’s Right within this context. The exhibition of Honneth's work is followed by its critical evaluation, in which, based on Marxist theory, the limits of Honneth's theoretical elaborations are pointed out. In this sense, the criticism aims to not only point out that there are shortcomings in the methods, concepts and diagnoses presented in Freedom’s Right, but that these shortcomings refer to problems belonging to the normative perspective that underlies the general framework of Honneth's thought. Thus, it is argued that the Honnethian theory, despite its merits, is devoid of theoretical instruments that allow it to develop an adequate reading of the forms of domination inherent in capitalist sociability, which, ultimately, weakens its project of elaborating a critical theory of society.