ABSTRACT
Over the past 15-20 years, in both politics and the academy, matters of social difference have assumed a prominent place. Evidence of this manifests itself in questions over the worth and necessity of Affirmative Action policies in hiring and higher education, the prudence of racial and political gerrymandering, the justifiability of restricting social services to only US citizens, and the fairness of limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Scores of books from the academy address how and to what degree “identity” markers (such as race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality) describe something meaningful about how individuals negotiate their lives (and indeed what kinds of lives they live), and what can and should be done to ameliorate unfair causes and outcomes. While I have attempted neither to address nor to solve all of these problems, what I have tried to do is make the case that some differences do matter, and the only way to arrive at fair (if temporary) solutions that we all must abide by is for the decision-making process to include representatives that reflect all the relevant interests and concerns of the polity.
