The Politics of Inequality

McKinnon's theory is that when women acquire power in the public sphere, this stems from their subordination in the private sphere. In contrast, for Rousseau, there is some natural inequality, but the natural inequality isn't really the problem. And those socially constructed inequalities for him result in competitions for status among people. This kind of desire to get everyone to love you the way that you love yourself creates a society which reflects one's own self-love.