ABSTRACT
Many relational egalitarians are concerned not only with relationships between individuals but also with how individuals relate to themselves. Unequal relations, such as hierarchies or oppression, are problematic, at least in part, because of what they do to individuals' self-regarding attitudes. While the literature often assumes a straightforward connection between egalitarian structures and self-respect, Christian Schemmel's work has called this assumption into question. On his account, self-respect must be robust, and robust self-respect does not require fully egalitarian structures in order to be developed and maintained; rather, what makes self-respect robust is precisely that it can withstand experiences of inequality. Self-respect, Schemmel concludes, therefore cannot be the basis for relational arguments for egalitarian structures. This chapter challenges Schemmel's conclusion. Drawing on Robin Dillon's work on self-respect, we argue that self-respect requires not only an intellectual understanding but also the experiential knowledge of one's equal status. Such experiential knowledge can only be attained in a social context that provides sufficient assurance that one is in fact an equal. Self-respect, then, requires relational equality.
