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Social justice isjustice in relation to the distribution ofwealth,opportunities, andprivileges within asociety where individuals' rights are recognized and protected.[1][2] InWestern andAsian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fulfill theirsocietal roles and receive their due from society.[3][4][5] In the current movements for social justice, the emphasis has been on the breaking of barriers forsocial mobility, the creation ofsafety nets, andeconomic justice.[6][7][8][9][10][excessive citations] Social justice assigns rights and duties in theinstitutions of society, which enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation. The relevant institutions often includetaxation,social insurance,public health,public school,public services,labor law andregulation ofmarkets, to ensuredistribution of wealth, andequal opportunity.[11]
Modernist interpretations that relate justice to areciprocal relationship to society are mediated by differences in cultural traditions, some of which emphasize the individual responsibility toward society and others the equilibrium between access to power and its responsible use.[12] Hence, social justice is invoked today while reinterpreting historical figures such asBartolomé de las Casas, in philosophical debates about differences among human beings, in efforts for gender, ethnic, andsocial equality, for advocating justice formigrants, prisoners, theenvironment, and the physically and developmentallydisabled.[13][14][15]
While concepts of social justice can be found in classical and Christian philosophical sources, from early Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle toCatholic saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, the termsocial justice finds its earliest uses in the late eighteenth century, albeit with unclear theoretical or practical meanings.[16][17][18] The use of the term was subject to accusations of rhetorical flourish, perhaps related to amplifying one view of distributive justice.[19] In the coining and definition of the term in the natural law social scientific treatise ofLuigi Taparelli, in the early 1840s,[20] Taparelli established the natural law principle that corresponded to the evangelical principle of brotherly love—i.e. social justice reflects the duty one has to one's other self in the interdependent abstract unity of the human person in society.[21] After theRevolutions of 1848, the term was popularized generically through the writings ofAntonio Rosmini-Serbati.[22][23]
In the late industrial revolution,Progressive Era American legal scholars began to use the term more, particularlyLouis Brandeis andRoscoe Pound. From the early 20th century it was also embedded ininternational law and institutions; the preamble to establish theInternational Labour Organization recalled that "universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice." In the later 20th century, social justice was made central to the philosophy of thesocial contract, primarily byJohn Rawls inA Theory of Justice (1971). In 1993, theVienna Declaration and Programme of Action treats social justice as a purpose ofhuman rights education.[24][25]
The different concepts ofjustice, as discussed in ancientWestern philosophy, were typically centered upon the community.
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After theRenaissance andReformation, the modern concept of social justice, as developing human potential, began to emerge through the work of a series of authors.Baruch Spinoza inOn the Improvement of the Understanding (1677) contended that the one true aim of life should be to acquire "a human character much more stable than [one's] own", and to achieve this "pitch of perfection... The chief good is that he should arrive, together with other individuals if possible, at the possession of the aforesaid character."[31] During theenlightenment and responding to theFrench andAmerican Revolutions,Thomas Paine similarly wrote inThe Rights of Man (1792) society should give "genius a fair and universal chance" and so "the construction of government ought to be such as to bring forward... all that extent of capacity which never fails to appear in revolutions."[32]
Although there is no certainty about the first use of the term "social justice", early sources can be found in Europe in the 18th century.[33] Some references to the use of the expression are in articles of journals aligned with the spirit of theEnlightenment, in which social justice is described as an obligation of the monarch;[34][35] also the term is present in books written by Catholic Italian theologians, notably members of theSociety of Jesus.[36] Thus, according to this sources and the context, social justice was another term for "the justice of society", the justice that rules the relations among individuals in society, without any mention to socio-economic equity or human dignity.[33]
The usage of the term started to become more frequent by Catholic thinkers from the 1840s, beginning with theJesuitLuigi Taparelli inCiviltà Cattolica, and based on the work of St.Thomas Aquinas. Taparelli argued that rivalcapitalist andsocialist theories, based on subjectiveCartesian thinking, undermined the unity of society present inThomisticmetaphysics as neither were sufficiently concerned with ethics.[19] Writing in 1861, the influential British philosopher and economist,John Stuart Mill stated inUtilitarianism his view that "Society should treat all equally well who have deserved equally well of it, that is, who have deserved equally well absolutely. This is the highest abstract standard of social and distributive justice; towards which all institutions, and the efforts of all virtuous citizens, should be made in the utmost degree to converge."[37]
In the later 19th and early 20th century, social justice became an important theme in American political and legal philosophy, particularly in the work ofJohn Dewey,Roscoe Pound andLouis Brandeis. One of the prime concerns was theLochner era decisions of theUS Supreme Court to strike down legislation passed by state governments and the Federal government for social and economic improvement, such as theeight-hour day or the right to join atrade union. After the First World War, the founding document of theInternational Labour Organization took up the same terminology in its preamble, stating that "peace can be established only if it is based on social justice". From this point, the discussion of social justice entered into mainstream legal and academic discourse.
In 1931, thePope Pius XI explicitly referred to the expression, along with the concept ofsubsidiarity, for the first time inCatholic social teaching in the encyclicalQuadragesimo anno. Then again inDivini Redemptoris, the church pointed out that the realization of social justice relied on the promotion of thedignity of human person.[38] During the 1930s, the term was widely associated with pro-Nazi andantisemitic groups, such as theChristian Front.[citation needed] Social Justice was the name ofCharles Coughlin'snewspaper.[39] Because of the documented influence ofDivini Redemptoris in its drafters,[40] theConstitution of Ireland was the first one to establish the term as a principle of the economy in the State, and then other countries around the world did the same throughout the 20th century, even insocialist regimes such as theCuban Constitution in 1976.[33]
In the late 20th century, several liberal and conservative thinkers, notablyFriedrich Hayek rejected the concept by stating that it did not mean anything, or meant too many things.[41] However the concept remained highly influential, particularly with its promotion by philosophers such asJohn Rawls. Even though the meaning of social justice varies, at least three common elements can be identified in the contemporary theories about it: a duty of the State todistribute certain vital means (such aseconomic, social, and cultural rights), the protection ofhuman dignity, andaffirmative actions to promotesubstantive equality andsocial equity for everybody.[33]
Hunter Lewis' work promoting natural healthcare and sustainable economies advocates forconservation as a key premise in social justice. His manifesto onsustainability ties the continued thriving of human life to real conditions, the environment supporting that life, and associates injustice with the detrimental effects ofunintended consequences of human actions. Quoting classical Greek thinkers likeEpicurus on the good of pursuing happiness, Hunter also cites ornithologist, naturalist, and philosopherAlexander Skutch in his book Moral Foundations:
The common feature which unites the activities most consistently forbidden by the moral codes of civilized peoples is that by their very nature they cannot be both habitual and enduring, because they tend to destroy the conditions which make them possible.[42]
Pope Benedict XVI citesTeilhard de Chardin in a vision of the cosmos as a 'living host'[43] embracing an understanding of ecology that includes humanity's relationship to others, that pollution affects not just the natural world but interpersonal relations as well. Cosmic harmony, justice and peace are closely interrelated:
If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.[44]
InThe Quest for Cosmic Justice,Thomas Sowell writes that seeking utopia, while admirable, may have disastrous effects if done without strong consideration of the economic underpinnings that support contemporary society.[45]
Political philosopherJohn Rawls draws on theutilitarian insights ofBentham andMill, thesocial contract ideas ofJohn Locke, and thecategorical imperative ideas ofKant. His first statement of principle was made inA Theory of Justice 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."[46] Adeontological proposition that echoes Kant in framing the moral good of justice inabsolutist terms. His views are definitively restated inPolitical Liberalism where society is seen "as a fair system of co-operation over time, from one generation to the next".[47]
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. 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, but not necessarily to an objective notion of justice based on coherent ideological grounding. 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 one has to assume that all citizens are reasonable. Rawls constructed an argument for a two-stage process to determine a citizen's hypothetical agreement:
This applies to one person who represents a small group (e.g., the organiser of a social event setting a dress code) just as it does to national governments, which are ultimate trustees, holding representative powers for the benefit of all citizens within their territorial boundaries. Governments that fail to provide forwelfare of their citizens according to the principles of justice are not legitimate. 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."[48] 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 way that fixes a greater degree of equality of outcome. According to Rawls, the basic liberties that every good society should guarantee are:
Thomas Pogge's arguments pertain to a standard of social justice that createshuman rights deficits. He assigns responsibility to those who actively cooperate in designing or imposing the social institution, that the order is foreseeable as harming the global poor and is reasonably avoidable. Pogge argues that social institutions have anegative duty to not harm the poor.[49][50]
Pogge speaks of "institutional cosmopolitanism" and assigns responsibility to institutional schemes[51] for deficits of human rights. An example given isslavery and third parties. A third party should not recognize or enforceslavery. The institutional order should be held responsible only for deprivations of human rights that it establishes or authorizes. The current institutional design, he says, systematically harms developing economies by enabling corporate tax evasion,[52] illicit financial flows, corruption, trafficking of people and weapons.Joshua Cohen disputes his claims based on the fact that some poor countries have done well with the current institutional design.[53] Elizabeth Kahn argues that some of these responsibilities[vague] should apply globally.[54]
The United Nations calls social justice "an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.[55]
The United Nations' 2006 documentSocial Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations, states that "Social justice may be broadly understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth ..."[56]: 16
The term "social justice" was seen by the U.N. "as a substitute for the protection of human rights [and] first appeared in United Nations texts during the second half of the 1960s. At the initiative of the Soviet Union, and with the support of developing countries, the term was used in the Declaration on Social Progress and Development, adopted in 1969."[56]: 52
The same document reports, "From the comprehensive global perspective shaped by the United Nations Charter and theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, neglect of the pursuit of social justice in all its dimensions translates into de facto acceptance of a future marred by violence, repression and chaos."[56]: 6 The report concludes, "Social justice is not possible without strong and coherentredistributive policies conceived and implemented by public agencies."[56]: 16
The same UN document offers a concise history: "[T]he notion of social justice is relatively new. None of history's great philosophers—not Plato or Aristotle, or Confucius or Averroes, or even Rousseau or Kant—saw the need to consider justice or the redress of injustices from a social perspective. The concept first surfaced in Western thought and political language in the wake of the industrial revolution and the parallel development of the socialist doctrine. It emerged as an expression of protest against what was perceived as the capitalistexploitation of labor and as a focal point for the development of measures to improve the human condition. It was born as a revolutionary slogan embodying the ideals of progress and fraternity. Following the revolutions that shook Europe in the mid-1800s, social justice became a rallying cry for progressive thinkers and political activists.... By the mid-twentieth century, the concept of social justice had become central to the ideologies and programs of virtually all the leftist and centrist political parties around the world ..."[56]: 11–12
Another key area of human rights and social justice is the United Nations's defense of children's rights worldwide. In 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and available for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25.[57] According toOHCHR, this convention entered into force on 2 September 1990. This convention upholds that all states have the obligation to "protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse."[57]
Time magazine noted that younger Evangelicals also increasingly engage in social justice.[58]John Stott traced the call for social justice back to the cross, "The cross is a revelation of God's justice as well as of his love. That is why the community of the cross should concern itself with social justice as well as with loving philanthropy."[59]
From its founding, Methodism was a Christian social justice movement. UnderJohn Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social justice issues of the day, including theprison reform andabolition movements. Wesley himself was among the first to preach for slaves rights, attracting significant opposition.[60][61][62]
Today, social justice plays a major role in theUnited Methodist Church and theFree Methodist Church.[63] TheBook of Discipline of the United Methodist Church says, "We hold governments responsible for the protection of the rights of the people to free and fair elections and to the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, communications media, and petition for redress of grievances without fear of reprisal; to theright to privacy; and to the guarantee of the rights to adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care."[64] The United Methodist Church also teachespopulation control as part of its doctrine.[65]
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Catholic social teaching consists of those aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine which relate to matters dealing with the respect of the individual human life. A distinctive feature of Catholic social doctrine is its concern for the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. Two of the seven key areas[66] of "Catholic social teaching" are pertinent to social justice:
Modern Catholic social teaching is often thought to have begun with the encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.[19]
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church (§§ 1928–1948) contains more detail of the church's view of social justice.[70]
In Muslim history,Islamic governance has often been associated with social justice.[additional citation(s) needed] Establishment of social justice was one of the motivating factors of theAbbasid revolt against the Umayyads.[71] The Shi'a believe that the return of theMahdi will herald in "the messianic age of justice" and the Mahdi along with the Isa (Jesus) will end plunder, torture, oppression and discrimination.[72]
For theMuslim Brotherhood the implementation of social justice would require the rejection ofconsumerism andcommunism. The Brotherhood strongly affirmed the right to private property as well as differences in personal wealth due to factors such as hard work. However, the Brotherhood held Muslims had an obligation to assist those Muslims in need. It held thatzakat (alms-giving) was not voluntary charity, but rather the poor had the right to assistance from the more fortunate.[73] Most Islamic governments therefore enforce thezakat through taxes.
InTo Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility, RabbiJonathan Sacks states that social justice has a central place inJudaism. One of Judaism's most distinctive and challenging ideas is itsethics of responsibility reflected in the concepts ofsimcha ("gladness" or "joy"),tzedakah ("the religious obligation to perform charity and philanthropic acts"),chesed ("deeds of kindness"), andtikkun olam ("repairing the world").[74]
The present-dayJāti hierarchy is undergoing changes for a variety of reasons including 'social justice', which is a politically popular stance in democratic India. Institutionalized affirmative action has promoted this. The disparity and wide inequalities in social behaviour of the jātis – exclusive, endogamous communities centred on traditional occupations – has led to variousreform movements inHinduism. While legally outlawed, the caste system remains strong in practice.[75]
The Chinese concept of Tian Ming has occasionally been perceived[by whom?] as an expression of social justice.[76] Through it, the deposition of unfair rulers is justified in that civil dissatisfaction and economical disasters is perceived asHeaven withdrawing its favor from the Emperor. A successful rebellion is considered definite proof that the Emperor is unfit to rule.
Social justice is also a concept that is used to describe the movement towards a socially just world, e.g., theGlobal Justice Movement. 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".[77]
Severalmovements are working to achieve social justice in society. These movements are working toward the realization of a world where all members of a society, regardless of background or procedural justice, have basic human rights and equal access to the benefits of their society.[78]
Liberation theology[79] is a movement inChristiantheology which conveys the teachings ofJesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions. It has been described by proponents as "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor",[80] and by detractors as Christianity perverted byMarxism andCommunism.[81]
Although liberation theology has grown into an international and inter-denominational movement, it began as a movement within theCatholic Church in Latin America in the 1950s–1960s. It arose principally as a moral reaction to the poverty caused by social injustice in that region.[82] It achieved prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. The term was coined by thePeruvian priestGustavo Gutiérrez, who wrote one of the movement's most famous books,A Theology of Liberation (1971). According toSarah Kleeb, "Marx would surely take issue", she writes, "with the appropriation of his works in a religious context...there is no way to reconcile Marx's views of religion with those of Gutierrez, they are simply incompatible. Despite this, in terms of their understanding of the necessity of a just and righteous world, and the nearly inevitable obstructions along such a path, the two have much in common; and, particularly in the first edition of [A Theology of Liberation], the use of Marxian theory is quite evident."[83]
Other noted exponents areLeonardo Boff of Brazil,Carlos Mugica of Argentina,Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, andJuan Luis Segundo of Uruguay.[84][85]
Social justice has more recently made its way into the field ofbioethics. Discussion involves topics such as affordable access to health care, especially for low-income households and families. The discussion also raises questions such as whether society should bear healthcare costs for low-income families, and whether the global marketplace is the best way to distribute healthcare.Ruth Faden of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics andMadison Powers of Georgetown University focus their analysis of social justice on which inequalities matter the most. They develop a social justice theory that answers some of these questions in concrete settings.
Social injustices occur when there is a preventable difference in health states among a population of people. These social injustices take the form ofhealth inequities when negative health states such as malnourishment, and infectious diseases are more prevalent in impoverished nations.[86] These negative health states can often be prevented by providing social and economic structures such as primary healthcare which ensures the general population has equal access to health care services regardless of income level, gender, education or any other stratifying factors. Integrating social justice with health inherently reflects the social determinants of health model without discounting the role of the bio-medical model.[87]
The sources of health inequalities are rooted in injustices associated with racism, sex discrimination, and social class. Richard Hofrichter and his colleagues examine the political implications of various perspectives used to explain health inequities and explore alternative strategies for eliminating them.[88]
TheVienna Declaration and Programme of Action affirm that "Human rights education should include peace, democracy, development and social justice, as set forth ininternational and regional human rights instruments, to achieve common understanding and awareness to strengthen universal commitment to human rights."[89]
Social justice principles are embedded in the largerenvironmental movement. The third principle of the Earth Charter is social and economic justice, which is described as seeking to eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative, ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner, affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity, and uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.
Theclimate justice andenvironmental justice movements also incorporate social justice principles, ideas, and practices. Climate justice and environmental justice, as movements within the larger ecological and environmental movement, each incorporate social justice in a particular way. Climate justice includes concern for social justice pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions,[90] climate-induced environmental displacement,[91] as well asclimate change mitigation and adaptation. Environmental justice includes concern for social justice pertaining to either environmental benefits[92] or environmental pollution[93] based on their equitable distribution across communities of color, communities of various socio and economic stratification, or any other barriers to justice.
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Michael Novak argues that social justice has seldom been adequately defined. He wrote:
[W]hole books and treatises have been written about social justice without ever defining it. It is allowed to float in the air as if everyone will recognize an instance of it when it appears. This vagueness seems indispensable. The minute one begins to define social justice, one runs into embarrassing intellectual difficulties. It becomes, most often, a term of art whose operational meaning is, "We need a law against that." In other words, it becomes an instrument of ideological intimidation, for the purpose of gaining the power of legal coercion.[94]
Friedrich Hayek of theAustrian School of economics rejected the very idea of social justice as meaningless, 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. He wrote:
There can be no test by which we can discover what is 'socially unjust' because there is no subject by which such an injustice can be committed, and there are no rules of individual conduct the observance of which in the market order would secure to the individuals and groups the position which as such (as distinguished from the procedure by which it is determined) would appear just to us. [Social justice] does not belong to the category of error but to that of nonsense, like the term 'a moral stone'.[95]
Hayek argued that proponents of social justice often present it as a moral virtue but most of their descriptions pertain to impersonal states of affairs (e.g. income inequality or poverty), which are cited as "social injustice". Hayek argued that social justice is either a virtue or it is not. If it is, it can only be ascribed to the actions of individuals; however, most who use the term ascribe it to social systems, sosocial justice in fact describes a regulative principle of order; they are interested not in virtue but power.[94] For Hayek, this notion of social justices presupposes that people are guided by specific external directions rather than internal, personal rules of just conduct. It further presupposes that one can never be held accountable for ones own behaviour, as this would be "blaming the victim". According to Hayek, the function of social justice is to blame someone else, often attributed to "the system" or those who are supposed, mythically, to control it. Thus, it is based on the appealing idea of "you suffer; your suffering is caused by powerful others; these oppressors must be destroyed."[94] Ben O'Neill of theUniversity of New South Wales and theMises Institute argues:
[For advocates of social justice] the notion of "rights" is a mere term of entitlement, indicative of a claim for any possible desirable good, no matter how important or trivial, abstract or tangible, recent or ancient. It is merely an assertion of desire, and a declaration of intention to use the language of rights to acquire said desire.In fact, since the program of social justice inevitably involves claims for government provision of goods, paid for through the efforts of others, the term actually refers to an intention to useforce to acquire one's desires. Not to earn desirable goods by rational thought and action, production and voluntary exchange, but to go in there and forcibly take goods from those who can supply them![96]
PsychologistSteven Pinker argues that social justice "sees society as a struggle for power, also zero-sum, among different sexes, sexual orientations, and races [and] also has a contempt for science".[97] Media commentatorJordan Peterson argues that social justice promotes collectivism and sees individuals as "essentially a member of a group" and "not essentially an individual". He also argues that social justice "view[s] the world" as "a battleground between groups of different power".[97]
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