What is social justice?

Social justice is one of the indications of the concept of justice, which refers to the fair allocation of resources in a society. In this sense, the law must achieve an acceptable level of real and formal equality and ensure fair distribution of resources and equal opportunities.

Nowadays, in the mainstream political discourse, there are three theories of political philosophy and three main schools of thought on justice:

1- Aristotle’s works on justice, which are highly influential and controversial, are the basis of modern Aristotelian and individualistic theories of justice; such as Nietzsche’s philosophy of existentialism. The most important contribution of Aristotle’s methodology was his distinction between corrective and distributive justice.

2- Social contract theories, which justify the principles of classical liberalism with the famous hypothesis of social contract: It is assumed that a liberal and democratic society is based on the free choice of rational and autonomous agents.

3- Utilitarianism, a philosophy whose goal is to maximize the welfare of society: The influence and power of utilitarianism has been the main force behind the strength and reinforcement of political philosophy, especially after its acceptance by neoclassical economics. Many contemporary theories begin with a (usually critical) reaction to utilitarian ideas.

The main idea of social justice.

The demand for social justice always raises the question of how rights, positions, and material and non-material blessings are distributed in a society. This demand is related to conflicts that determine what each person should have and to what extent. Since in every society there are costs alongside assets, this conflict also exists, determining how these costs can be divided fairly and proportionately among everyone’s shoulders, taking into account their income levels.

If we want to connect social justice with normative expectations for the distribution of blessings and social costs, we will achieve a concept of social justice that has a relatively short lifespan and returns to the second half of the twentieth century. With the emergence of welfare states in the decades after World War II, political struggles over the issue of social justice were reflected in a specific manner in the programs of political parties.

While in the 1960s and 1970s, social justice mainly focused on the fair distribution and redistribution of wealth in the 20th century, today the issue is more about equal distribution of opportunities and chances that make it possible for individuals to achieve their life goals. In other words, social justice today is not only about guaranteeing material benefits and social welfare, but also includes the possibility of access to education, culture, and political participation.

Five dimensions can be presented for social justice as follows:

1- Prevention of poverty expansion and efforts to eradicate it.

2. Increasing social opportunities through education.

3. Increasing social opportunities through creating more job opportunities and proportionally dividing incomes.

4. Attention to the special role of women.

5- Creating social security through establishing a fair balance between income levels and social expenses such as healthcare and others.

World Social Justice Day

World Social Justice Day is a day to recognize the need to promote efforts to combat issues such as poverty and unemployment. The United Nations General Assembly adopted February 20th as World Social Justice Day on February 26th, 2007, which became effective in 2009.

With the recognition of this day by the World Summit, social development, with the goal of social justice, solidarity, harmony and equality within and among countries, and social justice, equality and fairness, form the fundamental values of all societies.

Governments have committed to creating a framework for promoting social justice at national and international levels in order to achieve “a society for all.” They have also pledged to promote fair income distribution and greater access to resources through equal rights, equality, and opportunities for all.

Governments also recognized that economic growth should promote equality and social justice, and that “a society for all” should be based on social justice, respect for human rights, and fundamental freedoms.

Sources:

Ratlage, International Political Economy Encyclopedia: Topics J-O, page 858.

John Rawls, Theory of Justice, 1971

“Hey B. Atkinson, Social Justice and Public Policy 1982”

“Ji Kitchening, in search of social justice through globalization 2003.”

United Nations website