Theory of Objective Material Deprivation: A Normative Framework for the Analysis of Political Injustice and Civic Mobilization

This paper develops the Theory of Objective Material Deprivation (TPMO) as a normative framework for the analysis of political injustice and the structural conditions that favor civic mobilization. In contrast to approaches that privilege purely procedural criteria or interpretations focused on subjective perceptions of grievance, the TPMO maintains that there are objective material thresholds whose transgression constitutes a primary form of political injustice. In critical dialogue with classical theories of deprivation, in particular with the concept of relative deprivation developed by Ted Robert Gurr, and with Amartya Sen's approach to capabilities, the article argues that justice cannot be evaluated solely in terms of formal rights or institutional correctness, but in terms of the effective possibility of converting those rights into basic functionings such as being adequately nourished, moving freely, working and accessing essential services. The TPMO complements this perspective by proposing criteria to identify situations in which such capacities are materially blocked / precluded, regardless of the formal quality of the normative order. The paper analytically distinguishes between objective material deprivation, subjective perception of injustice, and collective action, and argues that the violation of certain material thresholds constitutes a sufficient condition for the erosion of political legitimacy and for the emergence of civic conflicts. Overall, the proposal offers a conceptual tool for the normative evaluation of political orders and for the analysis of the material bases of social protest.