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For the Israeli political party, see Social Justice (political party)

Social justice refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely the administration of law. Social Justice (צדק חברתי Tzedek Hevrati) is a political party in Israel headed by Russian Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak. A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is generally thought of as a world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits of society. (Different proponents of social justice have developed different interpretations of what constitutes fair treatment and an impartial share. ) It can also refer to the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society.

Social justice is both a philosophical problem and an important issue in politics, religion and civil society. Political philosophy is the study of questions about the City, Government, Politics, Liberty, Justice, Property, Rights Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning Society as opposed to the force-backed Most individuals wish to live in a just society, but different political ideologies have different conceptions of what a 'just society' actually is. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics The term "social justice" is often employed by the political left to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism, which may be achieved through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or property redistribution. Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power A progressive tax is a Tax imposed so that the Tax rate increases as the amount subject to taxation increases Income redistribution refers to a political policy intended to even the amount of income individuals are permitted to earn Property redistribution is a term applied to various political policies involving Taxation or Expropriation of Property from some in order to finance payments The right wing also uses the term social justice, but generally believes that a just society is best achieved through the operation of a free market, which they believe provides equality of opportunity and promotes philanthropy and charity. In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates Both the right and the left tend to agree on the importance of rule of law, human rights, and some form of a welfare safety net (though the left supports this last element to a greater extent than the right). The rule of law, in its most basic form is the principle that no one is above the law Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled "Social welfare" redirects here For other uses see Welfare A social welfare provision refers to any program which seeks to provide

Social Justice features as an apolitical philosophical concept (insofar as any philosophical analysis of politics can be free from bias) in much of John Rawls' writing. It is fundamental to Catholic social teaching, and is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party upheld by the worldwide green parties. Catholic social teaching encompasses aspects of Catholic doctrine relating to matters dealing with the collective welfare of humanity The Four Pillars of the Green Party are a foundational statement of Green politics and form the basis of many Worldwide Green parties. A Green party' or ecologist party is a formally organized Political party based on the principles of Green politics. Some of the tenets of social justice, sometimes renamed civil justice, have been adopted by those who lie on the left or center-left of the political spectrum (e. g. Socialists, Social Democrats, etc). Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left Social justice is also a concept that some use to describe the movement towards a socially just world. In this context, social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect

Contents

Rawls

The political philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) draws on the utilitarian insights of Bentham and Mill, the social contract ideas of Locke, and the categorical imperative ideas of Kant. John Rawls ( February 21, 1921  &ndash November 24, 2002) was an American Philosopher, a Professor of His first statement of principle was made in A Theory of Justice (1971) where he proposed that, "Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. " (at p3). A deontological proposition that echoes Kant in framing the moral good of justice in absolutist terms. Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek grc δέον deon, "obligation duty" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg Moral absolutism is the Meta-ethical view that there are absolute standards against which Moral questions can be Judged, and that certain actions His views are definitively restated in Political Liberalism (1993), where society is seen, "as a fair system of co-operation over time, from one generation to the next. " (at p14).

All societies have a basic structure of social, economic, and political institutions, both formal and informal. In testing how well these elements fit and work together, Rawls based a key test of legitimacy on the theories of social contract. Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order To determine whether any particular system of collectively enforced social arrangements is legitimate, he argued that one must look for agreement by the people who are subject to it. Obviously, not every citizen can be asked to participate in a poll to determine his or her consent to every proposal in which some degree of coercion is involved, so we have to assume that all citizens are reasonable. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Rawls constructed an argument for a two-stage process to determine a citizen's hypothetical agreement:

This applies to one person representing a small group (e. g. to the organiser of a social event setting a dress code) as equally as it does to national governments which are the ultimate trustees, holding representative powers for the benefit of all citizens within their territorial boundaries, and if those governments fail to provide for the welfare of their citizens according to the principles of justice, they are not legitimate. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. "Social welfare" redirects here For other uses see Welfare A social welfare provision refers to any program which seeks to provide To emphasise the general principle that justice should rise from the people and not be dictated by the law-making powers of governments, Rawls asserted that, "There is . . . a general presumption against imposing legal and other restrictions on conduct without sufficient reason. But this presumption creates no special priority for any particular liberty. " (at pp291-292) This is support for an unranked set of liberties that reasonable citizens in all states should respect and uphold — to some extent, the list proposed by Rawls matches the normative human rights that have international recognition and direct enforcement in some nation states where the citizens need encouragement to act in a more objectively just way. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled

The basic liberties according to Rawls

Catholic social teaching

Main article: Catholic social teaching

Catholic social teaching comprises those aspects of Catholic doctrine which relate to matters dealing with the collective aspect of humanity. Catholic social teaching encompasses aspects of Catholic doctrine relating to matters dealing with the collective welfare of humanity A distinctive feature of Catholic social teaching is its concern for the poorest members of society. Two of the seven key areas[1] of Catholic social teaching are pertinent to social justice:

Even before it was propounded in the Catholic social teachings, Social Justice appeared regularly in the history of the Catholic church:

The Green Party

Social Justice is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party. The Four Pillars of the Green Party are a foundational statement of Green politics and form the basis of many Worldwide Green parties. Social Justice (sometimes "Social and Global Equality and Economic Justice") reflects the general rejection of discrimination based on distinctions between class, gender, ethnicity, or culture. Green Parties are almost universally egalitarian in their outlook, seeing that great disparities in wealth or influence are caused by the perversion of or total lack of social institutions that prevent the strong from plundering the weak. [4]

Several local branches of the worldwide green parties define social justice as the principle that all persons are entitled to "basic human needs", regardless of "superficial differences such as economic disparity, class, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, or health". A Green party' or ecologist party is a formally organized Political party based on the principles of Green politics. This includes "the eradication of poverty and illiteracy, the establishment of sound environmental policy, and equality of opportunity for healthy personal and social development. "

Social Justice Movements

Social justice is also a concept that is used to describe the movement towards a socially just world. In this context, social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality, and can be defined as "the way in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of society" [5].

There are a number of movements that are working to achieve social justice in society. Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of Individuals and/or Organizations focused on specific [6][7] These movements are working towards the realization of a world where all members of a society, regardless of background, have basic human rights and an equal opportunity to access the benefits of their society. Equal opportunity is a term which has differing definitions and there is no consensus as to the precise meaning

Other uses

Social Justice was also the name of a periodical published by Father Coughlin in the 1930s and early 1940s. Father Charles Edward Coughlin ( October 25, 1891 &ndash October 27, 1979) was a Canadian -born Roman Catholic priest at The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be Coughlin's organization was known as the National Union for Social Justice and he frequently used the term social justice in his radio broadcasts. Father Charles Edward Coughlin ( October 25, 1891 &ndash October 27, 1979) was a Canadian -born Roman Catholic priest at In 1935 Coughlin made a series of broadcasts in which he outlined what he termed "the Christian principles of social justice" as an alternative to both capitalism and communism. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

Criticism

Criticism of the idea that there is an objective standard of social justice has come from several circles. First, there are moral relativists (such as the Sophists), who do not believe that there is any kind of objective standard for justice in general. This article attempts to confine itself to discussion of relativism in morals and ethics Second, there are cynics (such as Niccolò Machiavelli) who believe that any ideal of social justice is ultimately a mere justification for the status quo. Cynicism (Kυνισμός originally comprised the various philosophies of a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics, founded by Status quo is a Latin term meaning the present existing state of affairs or "the state in which" Third, there are libertarians who believe that social justice violates the non-aggression principle. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the The non-aggression principle (also called the non-aggression axiom, anticoercion principle, or zero aggression principle) is a Deontological Fourth, supporters of social darwinism believe that social justice assists the least fit to reproduce, sometimes labeled as dysgenics, and hence should be opposed. Social Darwinism is a theory that competition among all individuals groups nations or ideas drives Social evolution in human societies Dysgenics (and cacogenics) describes a system of breeding wherein artificial Selection is for traits that are deleterious or perceived as ethically [1] Additionally, postmodernism has also developed its own critique of the concept of social justice. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism

Many other people accept some of the basic principles of social justice, such as the idea that all human beings have a basic level of value, but disagree with the elaborate conclusions that may or may not follow from this. One example is the statement by H. G. Wells that all people are "equally entitled to the respect of their fellow-men. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political "

Additionally, social justice may be unfeasible economically. Many water-poor countries have recognized a "basic right to have drinking water" and then provided that access accordingly. This often resulted in water sources being over used and then decimated. [8]

On the other hand, some scholars reject the very idea of social justice as meaningless, religious, self-contradictory, and ideological, believing that to realize any degree of social justice is unfeasible, and that the attempt to do so must destroy all liberty. The most complete rejection of the concept of social justice comes from Friedrich Hayek of the Austrian School of economics: "The phrase 'social justice' is . Friedrich August von Hayek CH ( May 8, 1899 March 23, 1992) was an Austrian British Economist The Austrian School, also known as the “ Vienna School ” or the “ Psychological School ” is a heterodox school of economics that advocates . . simply 'a semantic fraud from the same stable as People's Democracy'. "[9] The purported goal of social justice is to eliminate economic inequities, but because these inequities are largely a result of individuals' own choices, they can only be corrected by controlling said choices.

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.htm
  2. ^ Matthew 25:40. Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American Economist, social commentator and author of dozens of books The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel
  3. ^ Option for the Poor, Major themes from Catholic Social Teaching, Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
  4. ^ Green Party of Canada | Social Justice | www.greenparty.ca
  5. ^ Just Comment - Volume 3 Number 1, 2000
  6. ^ Main Page - Social Justice Wiki
  7. ^ http://philebus.tamu.edu/~cmenzel/justice.html
  8. ^ See UNHD 2006 Report on Water Scarcity and Justice, available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr06-complete.pdf
  9. ^ "The Fatal Conceit - The Errors of Socialism", 1988, University of Chicago Press, quoting Charles Curran.

Further reading


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