Jutta Juvenius (2024)

Cities, 152. Online first

Abstract. This paper is about the justification for social housing and, more broadly, different considerations for universalist provision of public goods. Globally, social housing has undergone a retrenchment phase in recent decades; it has been impacted by the financialisaton of housing and critiques claiming social housing is an inefficient and unfair use of public money. Nevertheless, as examples from Finland show, social housing still has a recognised role as part of welfare state policies. To understand how social housing advocates operate in this strained position, this paper analyses interview data collected from 23 experts in the field of social housing. The analysis—which draws on Boltanski and Thévenot’s theory of public justification – shows that social housing officials are consistent in their views, emphasising decommodification of housing and supporting tenants’ equal right for home and citizenship. These notes are interpreted through the tradition of the Nordic conception of welfare states. The findings open new opportunities to discuss connections between cultural legacies and divergent considerations for provision of welfare.

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Anna Kukkonen & Arttu Malkamäki (2024)

Society & Natural Resources, 37(1). Open access, pp. 91-112

Abstract. Politicization of science is often described as the process of political actors overemphasizing scientific uncertainty to cast doubt on a scientific consensus. We argue that in addition to exploiting the inherent uncertainty of science, actors resort to so-called technical and national arguments to politicize science. Applying the pragmatic sociology of Boltanski and Thévenot and the method of discourse network analysis to Finnish news media debate on forest policy (2015-2020), we analyze the different modes of valuation used by the so-called forestry coalition to defend increased logging and politicize the broad scientific consensus on its harmful environmental impacts. Technical arguments appeal to the common principles of technical efficiency, productivity and expertise, while national arguments invoke shared, cultural ideas of Finnish forestry. We conclude that pragmatic sociology carries considerable potential to improve our understanding of the broader cultural factors that lay the foundation for successful politicization of science.

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Ye (Nicole) Yang & Julie L. Ozanne (2024)

Marketing Theory, Online first.

Abstract. This study examines how consumers coordinate temporary access of their private homes in a home swapping market in which different guiding principles compete. Drawing on the theory of justification, we find consumers strategically use objects to stabilise the different economies of worth that govern this access-based marketplace. Three economies of worth, domestic, civic, and market, are stabilised in homes signalling to visitors how to coordinate their use of the home. Moreover, consumers facilitate the coexistence of all three economies of worth by managing justifiable and object-led compromises. Our findings contribute to understanding that the peaceful coexistence of economies of worth occurs through stabilising objects that guide both coordination and compromises. Our findings extend the current explanations of why markets with plural institutional logics are often conflictual, fragile, and unstable. We also propose theoretical and managerial implications on the strategic use of objects to support a diverse but stable market.

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