Foreclosure and dispossession: The case for a feminist critical theory for public administration

Abstract

Using Marcuse and the 2008 economic crisis as a starting point, this work proposes a feminist critical theory for public administration that could inform how public administrationists can see themselves as defenders of human values against a status quo which favors masculine and market forces. Through an exploration of Marcuse's concepts of one-dimentionality, foreclosure, masculinization, and feminist socialism, this work asserts the need for a feminist critical theory for public administration theory and praxis that responds to current social injustices and explores a more complex analysis of the subject as subjugated and dispossessed. The conclusion proposes some directions that such a theory might take in the future.

Citation

Eagan, J.L. (2014), "Foreclosure and dispossession: The case for a feminist critical theory for public administration", International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 37-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-17-01-2014-B003