LUCSUS seminar: "The Politics of Adapting Expectations in Just Transformations"

Eric Brandstedt, Associate Professor of Human Rights and Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy, Lund University

This seminar will present a work-in-progress article that contributes to the philosophical discussion on justice in large-scale societal transformations. Central to this discussion is the concept of legitimate expectations (LE), which has been significantly addressed by scholars like Lukas Meyer and Santiago Truccone (2025). They highlight that individuals adversely affected by, e.g. the transition to a carbon-neutral society, may justifiably demand support if their legitimate expectations are unmet. However, this article argues that the LE framework obscures the analysis of who bears responsibility for fostering just societal change and what ought to be done. It reveals that analysing LE is not a good approach to clarifying the normative foundations of transitional social justice. This focus tends to misrepresent the issue as one solely concerning the conditions under which individuals deserve compensation for transitional costs from the state. While social expectations are essential, this article argues for broadening the conversation, addressing unreasonable expectations and recognising the collective responsibility of individuals, local communities, religious organisations, trade unions, and businesses for aligning social expectations with just societal goals. The call is for a forward-looking approach to adapting expectations to achieve just societal transformations, moving beyond mere compensation to a more comprehensive political strategy.

Eric Brandstedt's research focuses on justice issues related to climate change and climate policy. His overall motivation is to understand how a just transition to a fossil-free future can be achieved. He has investigated this in the field of climate ethics, in interdisciplinary collaborations, and through empirical and philosophical methods. In recent years, he has moved towards more concrete, local justice issues related to the climate transition, e.g. investigating the moral basis for perceived injustices in relation to wind power expansion and protests against high fuel prices. He also has general interests in political philosophy (e.g. concerning intergenerational justice, participatory methods in normative theory, and human rights).