ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses life history of Susan Moller Okin, a feminist thinker. Originally from New Zealand, Okin was in graduate school when feminist movements revivified in the 1970s. The basic idea that motivated Okin's work was captured in Justice, Gender, and the Family. Okin's life work pointed to a new direction for political theory: using the history of political thought and other tools of political theory to address real issues in the political world. Okin criticized mainstream theorists of justice and feminist colleagues alike. She never understood the de-politicized directions in which feminist political thought began to move. Towards the end of her life, she was beginning to take the thrust of critics' points seriously and thinking about her claims for women's equality on a global level. In one of her last essays, published after her death, Okin returned to offer a scathing critique of Rawls' Political Liberalism, arguing that he has still ignored the needs of justice in households.
