Social Justice
Political Philosophy
21April2014
Social Justice What is social justice? Social Justice can mean something different depending on who you are talking to. The most common definition of social justice is a policy-making theory that tries to ensure that all members of society are treated fairly and that all have the same opportunities to partake of and share in the benefits of society. This could mean the end of discrimination based on sex, race, creed, ethnicity, or income. Another form of social justice could be equality through fair taxation and the distribution of wealth, resources, and property. It could also mean equal access to education and job placement for everybody. I believe that social justice is all of these things. In this paper I will explore the idea of social justice as it pertains to people not only in the United States, but on a global scale and whether or not true “social justice” is an attainable goal.
The concept of Social Justice did not arise from utopian views of the world as it should be, but rather from people who see the disparities in a world that has a global economy divided into the haves and have-nots. Examples of this are various pro-environment, pro- equality political organizations that band together under the name the Green Party who base their thoughts on a credo called the four pillars. One of the pillars is social justice. The American Green Party states, "We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law," while the Irish Green Party avers that it is against "control of industry by large national and multinational companies" as well as "the exploitation of the third world." (Green Party)Both of these groups view social justice as a policy that is needed if there is to be equity in the world today.
Social Justice relies on the
21April2014
Social Justice What is social justice? Social Justice can mean something different depending on who you are talking to. The most common definition of social justice is a policy-making theory that tries to ensure that all members of society are treated fairly and that all have the same opportunities to partake of and share in the benefits of society. This could mean the end of discrimination based on sex, race, creed, ethnicity, or income. Another form of social justice could be equality through fair taxation and the distribution of wealth, resources, and property. It could also mean equal access to education and job placement for everybody. I believe that social justice is all of these things. In this paper I will explore the idea of social justice as it pertains to people not only in the United States, but on a global scale and whether or not true “social justice” is an attainable goal.
The concept of Social Justice did not arise from utopian views of the world as it should be, but rather from people who see the disparities in a world that has a global economy divided into the haves and have-nots. Examples of this are various pro-environment, pro- equality political organizations that band together under the name the Green Party who base their thoughts on a credo called the four pillars. One of the pillars is social justice. The American Green Party states, "We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law," while the Irish Green Party avers that it is against "control of industry by large national and multinational companies" as well as "the exploitation of the third world." (Green Party)Both of these groups view social justice as a policy that is needed if there is to be equity in the world today.
Social Justice relies on the
Cited: Karl Marx. Friedrich Engels. Communist Manifesto http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-socialism-and-communism.htm http://www.gp.org/index.php http://www.pewresearch.org/ "Social Justice." Social Justice. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2010.