Infinite justice: political cosmologies that protect our future

In her inaugural lecture, Shakuntala Banaji explores how our ethical and political imaginations of love, justice and rights—shaped by education systems, media and technologies under savage capitalism—differ between individuals, communities and geopolitical entities.

Drawing on three decades of research across everyday education, media and political cultures—from children and young people to politicians and policymakers—her lecture examines the political cosmologies behind the worst: sexual violence, racist lynching, hate and disinformation; and the best: autonomy, solidarity, relationality, creativity. These are examples of how humans either destroy or protect planetary dignity, freedom and coexistence. From legacy media to Gen-AI, the powerful design and deploy technologies to block political cosmologies of infinite justice from gaining ground, even as such ideas remain vital to humanity’s survival. This, she argues, is why artists and educators must stand firmly with justice, abandoning the neoliberal pretence of neutrality.