A Theory of Relational Reproduction: Definition and Ethical Principles

This paper introduces relational reproduction as a distinct object of ethical theory. A relational subject persists across time not by preserving memories, objects, or narratives, but by continually reproducing the relational structure of its shared history. We define relational reproduction as the joint practice through which a relational subject reproduces, reorganizes, and transforms that structure, thereby preserving the possibility of its own continued becoming. We then state five ethical principles governing just reproduction: generativity, co-reproduction, non-exploitation, counter-power, and subject preservation. The principles form an ordered architecture answering, in turn, why reproduction matters, how it must proceed, what it may never do, how it stays open, and what it must never sacrifice.