Ontic Oppression

Abstract This chapter defines ontic oppression as a subtype of ontic injustice in which the constraints and enablements to which the individual is subjected are not only wrongful but oppressive. In order to construct this definition, drawing on accounts by Marilyn Frye and Iris Marion Young, an account of oppression is offered: oppression involves systematic, group-based restraints that steer people towards subordinated social positions, where such positions are characterised by six features: exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness, cultural domination, violence, and communicative curtailment. The concept of ontic oppression incorporates the normative commitments that motivate the investigation into race and gender kinds that will be pursued in later chapters.