Perverse Justice

“Perverse Justice” considers sexual relations of production as they contribute to the neoliberal order of things. Specifically, the essay explores the imbrications of heteronormativity, Protestantism, and secularized global capital. By taking sex seriously as part and parcel of the relations of production, rather than as a realm of reproduction analogous to or functional for production, it is possible to develop a new understanding of both economic value and the values of social change, including justice, peace, and freedom. Through analyses of policy from the administrations of Barack Obama and George W. Bush, as well as the World Bank, this essay explores whether and how perversity might be an effective agent of economic justice.