ABSTRACT
Critique in the neoliberal age must balance the demand for democratic responsiveness to self-interpreted needs and with the necessity of making judgements about progress. Feminism has not just been marginalized by neoliberalism, it has been ‘seduced’ into a neoliberal version of itself and so the feminist critic is hemmed in by double claims of democratic epistemology and as arbiter of directions. Nancy Fraser illuminates the tasks and tries to resolve the conundrums for us. However, her proposals don’t finally overcome the internal tensions and she opts to trade off the arbitrating role of critical theory. I will try to find a way through that reflects upon and reclaims the normative ideals that are embedded within the democratic epistemologies.
