Neither Wild nor Domesticated: Positioning Liminal Animals through Labour Rights
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Authors
Brouwer, Daphne DZ
Date
2018-08-15
Type
project
major research paper
major research paper
Language
en
Keyword
Animal Studies , Liminality , Labour Rights , Karl Marx , Kendra Coulter , Zoopolis , Will Kymlicka , Care Work , Urban Animals , Sue Donaldson , Analytical Philosophy
Alternative Title
Abstract
Animal rights have become a mainstream part of philosophy since the 1970s, but liminal animals are still ignored by most animal studies scholars. Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka address the rights of liminal animals in Zoopolis assigning denizenship to them as they are considered to be neither wild (sovereignty) nor domesticated (citizenship). The problem with their approach is that they address the possibility for liminal animals to become citizens without explaining how this can happen. Combining Kendra Coulter’s care work approach with Karl Marx’s definition of production labour I argue that liminal animals are entitled to labour rights under certain circumstances. The strength of acknowledging that liminal animals can acquire labour rights is that their contribution to a community becomes formally acknowledged and protected, which I argue to be a possibility for a liminal animal to become a citizen.