The politics of social justice in neoliberal times: a reply to Slater

We thank Tom Slater for his comments, acknowledging that much of his paper is in significant disagreement with our own. We agree with Slater that we are engaged in contestations over meaning, and united on the principle of social justice as a guiding force for critical geographers, but we differ over how we might contribute to its realisation. This debate over tactics reflects quite different conceptualisations of power, resistance, and what it is to be political as academics. We respect Slater's ‘no’, but question whether this mode of resistance is enough. Does it constitute a politics of disobedience? Are the politics of engagement and alliance between academics, community and social movements too messy and inevitably contradictory, as he implies, for us to adopt alternative practices of research and teaching in geography beyond the academy? the interesting points that Slater makes, there are some errors in the portrayal of our argument that we wish to address. In particular, his inaccurate representation of the wider field of participatory geographies as largely engaged in collaborations with the state rather than grassroots organisations; and his suggestion that participatory geographies fit neatly with the impact agenda, rather than embodying an alternative. Our key focus remains the central question of what it is to be political as academics.