Brendon Marotta

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A Father Is A Child’s First Friend

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Some of the best advice I got before becoming a dad was:

A father is a child’s first friend.

When a child is born, they see their mother as a part of themselves. The child was a part of mom for nine months. It takes time for infants to learn that they are their own person.

Dad is the first person the child regularly interacts with who is not mom, and therefore not them, who regularly cares for them. Dad is their first friend.

The way mom treats the child informs how they will relate to themselves. The ways dad treats the child informs how they will relate to their friends.

While I am still my son’s father and that role has responsibilities that go far beyond a friend, I am happy that our friendship is growing as well.

Originally published here.

Is Critical Theory Actually Critical?

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There are two dominant responses to critical social justice. One is to accept it entirely and “do the work” that critical social justice demands. The other is to reject critical social justice, become “anti-woke,” and oppose critical social justice. All of American politics is polarized around these two positions.

I’d like to present a third option.

Both the “woke” and “anti-woke” have accepted the idea that critical theory is critical, and not a neutral tool. To be a critical theory, a theory must not only explain the world but attempt to change it. Critical theories contain an inherent political incitement by design.

Yet the process by which these theories are developed is itself not critical. Critical theory could also be thought of as a tool for analyzing power and language. One could create a theory that explains what is wrong with the world and attempts to transform it for any purpose or end.

In my book Children’s Justice, I break down the process of critical social justice theory into five principles and apply them along with many other social justice ideas to children’s issues. Based on this analysis, I conclude that American society has a problem with systemic pedophilia that can only be solved through a radical transformation of the way we treat children, which I call Children’s Justice.

This analysis is different than any previous critical social justice theory, yet it is very clearly critical social justice. The ideas of the book are based in previous critical social justice thinkers such as Ibram X. Kendi, Robin DiAngelo, Michel Foucault, Miranda Fricker, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Herbert Marcuse, etc. Yet, many who consider themselves “anti-woke” have responded positively to the book and left glowing reviews. Why is this? Do the critics of theory really hate theory or just the conclusions of theory?

Imagine for a minute that you had only seen the scientific method used to build bombs. A person who had only seen science used to construct bombs might believe that they hate the scientific method. Yet, the same method could be used to improve or extend life. Not keeping the scientific method would also remove the possibility of the benefits that method might bring. Likewise, there might be benefits to theory we can only know if we explore it as a method, rather than focusing on the cultural bombs it drops on society.

Critical social justice is already the dominant power in society. Why not understand it and use it as a tool for good?

To learn more about critical social justice, read Children’s Justice here: https://brendonmarotta.com/childrensjustice/

The Rectification of Names In Social Justice

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“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant;
if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone;
if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate;
if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion.
Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said.
This matters above everything.”
– Confucius

When asked what the first thing he would do if he achieved power was, the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius replied that he would give things their proper names. This concept became known as The Rectification of Names and is still employed today by modern political leaders.

The importance of names is a value shared throughout spiritual and philosophical traditions. In the Biblical book of Genesis, Adam’s first act after being given dominion over all of Creation is to name the animals. Many occult traditions believe that to know the name of a thing is to have power over it. The power of names continues today in critical social justice in the form of hermeneutical injustice and power/knowledge.

Hermeneutical injustice is a form of epistemic injustice described by Miranda Fricker in her book Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Hermeneutical injustice is defined as the inability to communicate or understand one’s own experience due to a lack of concepts available to define the experience. In other words, not having the words to describe the injustices you experience is itself an injustice.

The example of hermeneutical injustice Fricker gives in her book is the invention of the term “sexual harassment.” Prior to a court case brought by Carmita Wood, women had no way to articulate the injustice of unwanted sexual advances in the workplace. What was happening to them wasn’t rape, but it also wasn’t nothing. “Sexual harassment” gave them a word to articulate the injustice they were experiencing, creating hermeneutical justice

The concept of hermeneutical injustice implies that there might be injustices we experience today, that we still don’t have names for. As Confucius pointed out, “if language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone.” Social justice is only possible with the right language, or hermeneutical justice and the Rectification of Names.

Language also creates power. This is what French theorist Michel Foucault articulated when he coined the term power/knowledge. In Foucault’s view, every system of power rests on a system of knowledge or language, which in turn reproduces a system of power. If you control knowledge and language, you can achieve power.

We see the modern application of power/knowledge in social justice itself. Language like “diversity, equity, and inclusion” create knowledge and ways of knowing, which in turn creates power for those who wield it. The control social justice activists have achieved over various parts of society is only possible through a complex knowledge and language system known as critical theory. By rectifying the names and calling some things “racism” or injustice and other things “equity” or justice, critical social justice activists wield power over society and are able to accomplish their moral vision.

By contrast, those who are out of power often lack the language to articulate the injustices they perceive. For example, if you look at the “anti-woke” resistance to critical social justice, they often use the terms “fascist” and “Marxist” interchangeably to describe what they perceive as the totalitarian control of critical social justice. Those terms have different meanings and the problem they face is not exactly either. This is a bit like Carmita Wood describing her experience as “rape” prior to the invention of the term “sexual harassment.” The “anti-woke” face a hermeneutical injustice problem where they lack the language to articulate the issues they face.

At the same time, they also face a power/knowledge problem. Many of the “anti-woke” identify as former leftists. They call for a return to “classical liberalism” or the “original” definition of racism and Civil Rights politics. These ideologies contain the same language as critical social justice will therefore reproduce the same forms of power that gave rise to critical social justice. If the “anti-woke” actually wanted power, they would have to articulate a new system of knowledge and language different from the terms of critical social justice.

The next time you face a problem, see how much simply finding the right name for that problem resolves the issue. To know the name of a thing is to have power over it. This has been true since Biblical times and the time of Confucius all the way to our present day.

Brendon Marotta is the author of Children’s Justice, which gives names to many important social justice issues. Read the book here: https://brendonmarotta.com/childrensjustice/

Why Hasn’t There Been A Social Justice Movement For Children?

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Why hasn’t there been a social justice movement for children?

It’s odd when you think about it. If social justice is about protecting the vulnerable, the minority, and the oppressed, then there is no minority more vulnerable or oppressed than children.

It’s also strange when you consider how many other social justice movements exist. There is a social justice movement for every identity group. There is a movement for racial justice, women, gender identity, queer identity, disability justice, fat studies, decolonization, indigenous people, neurodiversity, etc. Why not children?

In Epistemic Injustice: Power and The Ethics of Knowing, Miranda Fricker suggests that “we try hardest to understand those things it serves us to understand,” and “a group’s unequal hermeneutical participation will tend to show up in a localized manner in hermeneutical hotspots.” In other words, people seek knowledge when it benefits them.

If a group is oppressed, they will seek out knowledge to understand their oppression. Critical social justice has a lot of very useful tools for any minority that wants to organize for power. However, dominant groups might not seek the same level of knowledge or understanding when there is nothing for them to gain. How do adults benefit from understanding children?

The obvious answer to why there hasn’t been a social justice movement for children is that it doesn’t benefit adults to have one, and adults are the ones with access to the epistemic tools of social justice and critical theory.

There are vast bodies of knowledge about children. Yet there is very little knowledge for children. When adults do study children, they center their understanding on what benefits adults. Everything from parenting to pedagogy is centered on the question: how do we get children to do what we want?

If all of the literature on another class was centered on the question “how do we get this group to do what we want?” we would assume there was serious exploitation and oppression going on. Yet adults often miss this, because they view children as extensions of themselves or the property of adults rather than whole persons with their own unique needs and way of seeing the world.

Even social justice literature often ignores the needs of children. Most social justice literature is focused on how to use children to meet the needs of adult identity groups. The entire field of critical pedagogy looks at how to educate children in social justice ideas but never questions the compulsory government institutions children are locked in where this teaching occurs.

As far as I know, Children’s Justice is the first book of its kind to envision a social justice movement for children. I wrote it because I was still connected to my own inner child and childhood experiences. I think if anyone looks honestly at their own feelings and experiences as a child, they will see significant injustices, some of which might still affect them to this day.

Since what we do to children affects the adults they become, the issue of how we treat children intersects with every other social justice issue. We won’t have full social justice until we have Children’s Justice.

To learn more, read Children’s Justice.

Follow My New Substack Hegemon Media

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I’m now writing about Children’s Justice on my new substack Hegemon Media.

Substack is an online newsletter and publishing platform popular with journalists. If you subscribe, you will get short regular articles (2-3 per week) by me about Children’s Justice. While there is the possibility for a paid newsletter in the future, right now all substack writing is free.

I’m going to be putting out some powerful writing here. You’ll want to make sure you read every article by subscribing. Subscribe here.

You can also read my upcoming work by following me on Medium and by subscribing to this blog here.

Why I Created Children’s Justice

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I have always been interested in Children’s Justice. I just didn’t have that name for it. The closest name I had was “children’s rights.”

Children’s rights movements have often struggled to gain attention. At best, they have been considered “alternative.” At worst, “fringe.” Most of the children’s organizations I know struggle for attention and funds.

At the same time, social justice movements have had a massive cultural impact. These movements have international name recognition, celebrity endorsements, corporate sponsorship, and regularly receive millions of dollars in donations.

I became curious. What were social justice movements doing that children’s advocates weren’t? Rather than be jealous of their success, I did what anyone who wants to improve their performance should do: I looked at others who were more successful in my field and sought to model their success.

The children’s movements I was familiar with were based in human rights. When I looked at social justice movements, I discovered they were not using the language of human rights. They were using critical theory.

One could approach racial justice issues with the discourse of human rights. For example, police brutality is clearly a human rights violation. Yet, these movements were choosing not to do that and instead speaking about systemic power. They had an entirely different intellectual foundation.

Modeling children’s movements after modern social justice movements would mean more than just borrowing a few tips and tactics, but changing the entire intellectual roots of children’s movements and reimagining them using critical theory.

So I did.

The result was my new book, Children’s Justice.

Children’s Justice explores the treatment of children as a social justice issue using critical social justice theory. The book began as a thought experiment, but the experiment was so successful, that it moved beyond being a mere experiment into a new conclusion.

Children’s Justice is an entirely new way of viewing children’s issues. It is my hope that this book and the ideas it contains bring the same level of success to children’s issues that other social justice movements have found.

Get the book Children’s Justice here: https://brendonmarotta.com/childrensjustice/