Sunday 28 April 2019

The Definition Of Social Justice

By Peter Allen


Many people have probably heard about concepts of socialism during their university classes or maybe political speeches. Social justice, which is a prevailing concept, is especially mentioned as a platform by a lot of socialist activists when it comes to political change and wealth distribution. To give one a better idea of this concept, here is a broad explanation of what this concept is.

In a very broad sense, this concept embraces all forms of equality. It is a concept that all the people in a society are entitled to have access to healthcare, wealth, well being, justice under the law, and work opportunities equally. This means that there should be no form of prejudice against any group of people whether race, social class, gender, or religion.

Now, most people would associate this term with leftist movements like the Democratic party since it is a socialist concept. However, it is a term that is so broad that it is not really associated with any party or movement. Rather, it is a broad concept that many parties and religious movements embrace as a part of their ideology.

Another interesting thing to take note of is that this term has also been lumped together with extremist groups like the communists since communists and even Marxists have been using this term heavily. It is true that they do advocate this form of justice, their definitions tend to be a bit more radical and differ than its definition today. Today, the concept is found in many ideologies whether it has a heavy or light influence.

Unlike the olden days, human rights movements are more widespread due to many formerly oppressed groups coming out. In a general sense, human rights equate to equality of all humans under the law of society. That means that the law has to give everyone basic human rights in a society despite their origins or ethnic group.

One very crucial example would be in the criminal justice system, especially in America. There is a high case of racism in the criminal system wherein black and Latino individuals are often given stricter and unjust treatment as compared to white men. This in itself creates bias simply because of race or ethnic group.

Another example would be that of the healthcare system. If one would follow this socialist concept, universal healthcare is supposedly a human right because it involves giving the best treatment for the overall well being of citizens. Following this concept, healthcare is not to be seen as a privilege that is only to be enjoyed by the rich because that would mean it is discrimination against certain social classes.

In a nutshell, this brand of justice is really all about equality. The only known problem about this concept is that it divides people in a way that each group has their own definition of what it means which also translates to them having their own specific reforms. While it is a great principle to follow, implementation would be a challenge unless all socialist groups are able to agree on all reforms they want for their respective societies.




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