Ideal and Non-Ideal Theory in Elizabeth Anderson's the Imperative of Integration

Abstract

Elizabeth Anderson's The Imperative of Integration is most notable for its creative application of her conception of non-ideal theory. I assess Anderson's conception and argue that it does not adequately account for the necessary role of political ideals in non-ideal theory. Political ideals, I argue, determine what counts as a political problem and shape the practice of non-ideal theorizing in ways Anderson does not fully address. This methodological difference leads me to depart in a small but significant way from her criticism of the color-blind ideal: by failing to consider the role of ideals in defining political problems, Anderson's criticisms of the color-blind ideal fail to note the contradiction advocates of that ideal find between the critical implications of their view and its alleged policy prescriptions.