Feminist Theory in Pursuit of the Public argues that feminism needs to
develop a theory of the public. It responds to a moment when feminism's
impetus to reconstitute the private sphere left a huge gap in its
political thinking on the public. This inattention to the public is
particularly worrisome now when the nation-state and its publics seem to
have diminishing power and compromised democratic agency. The waning of
power in the public sphere diminishes the influence that citizens can
have in deciding on the conditions of life, and therefore minimizes the
changes that feminists can envision or enact in the social field to work
towards equality, access, deliberation, participation, just
distribution, rights, and authority for women.