Justice and Civic Engagement
Understanding what justice is and how it is applied in matters where social engagements are involved could be seen to have a distinct impact on how a society improves and grows accordingly. It could be noticed through time that when it comes to such sense of social engagement, the desire to become more intensive in the way one relates to the other and how a person becomes attached to a particular social thought as he mingles with others is what is being observed and analyzed by several social analysts noted through their contributions in understanding the real worth of social connection and development.
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Among the writers and social analysts whose idealism was established to define justice and civic engagement were Machiavelli, Lao Tzu, Confucius and Plato. These writers’ idealisms and understanding of the society does implicate a more definite pattern on understanding the why’s and how’s of what is meant by social engagement and relationship development based on the social connections that humans tend to form.
For instance, Machiavelli’s writing highlights the emergence of elitism in the government during the early years of introducing formal forms of politics in the human society. As history itself suggests, the emergence of such relational situations impose on how the mandate of personal behavior among administrators affect the overall application of development that is reflected through the form of governance embraced by a particular society. This insists on the fact that human behavior largely entails the concept of forming a new sense of development that directly affects the normative process by which government administrations are duly founded upon.
On the other hand, the writing of Lao Tze, it could be realized how much he gives attention to the differential matter of what is meant by becoming a leader apart from being a teacher. Unlike the classic presentation of authorities by administrators in the early centuries, Lao Tze tends to highlights the role of such authoritative positions to serve as the platform for the leaders to set a teaching ground that could best be used to insist on what is understood as guided leadership. In this form of administrational leadership, politicians are expected to assist members of the community to become more open to the idea of embracing a new sense of being, to become more effective in seeing their position in the society as the ones who are to give support to the members of the society thus empowering them to function better.
Lao Tze’s understanding of guided leadership insists on the fact that leaders ought to become more effective in leading the way rather than directing it. Apart from what Machiavelli points out about political power, Lao Tze presents a different sense of setting up what good leadership should be grounded upon. The real essence of justice, according to Machiavelli is dependent on how leaders use their authority to establish a sense of direction among the people while Lao Tze determinably insists on how such form of dependency among the people could be turned into something more productive which includes a better sense of what is happening the society and empowering the people to become a part of it, to embrace the situation and make sure that they contribute to the improvement of matters surrounding them.
Plato’s arguments on the other hand indicate strong relation to human justice and how it should be used as the basis of everything else that occurs. People, according to him, develop a certain desire of recognition. Through time, it could be understood that individuals have become more expressive especially in the way they insist on such matter of recognition to be realized by people living around them. The administrators need to see to it that such desire is responded to. Confucius’ writing on the matter says so much more about the situation especially in relation to what is meant by improved living that humans pursue [almost all the time]. Closely related to what Plato wants to impose, Confucius recognizes the need to set balance on how administrative responsibility becomes a deterrent source of social dependence mainly because humans are already given the chance to embrace a sense of responsibility as they recognize the need to become more serious as to how they engage in modern social developments. In short, instead of insisting on how humans would recognize their own personal needs and personal desires, they are motivated to become more considerate of what others need, to be more focused on how they are going to be able to adjust themselves and become more considerate of what others’ need to give attention to, instead of simply putting the focus upon themselves. Relatively, with such vision, both Plato and Confucius hopes to make a determinable impact, especially when it comes to reestablishing the form of justice that emancipates a sense of recognition on what humans could do and who they might be able to rise from it, thus becoming more productive in different ways. Furthermore, Confucius tries to emanate an essence of development that brings about a sense of realization on the part of the people as they embrace different options of development; to not forget that the most important element of progress lies within the capacity of humans to become endowed with the desire to stay in touch with each other, and be connected to each other, thus aiming to be united in thoughts and in the desire to embrace the fully defined pattern of progress.
References:
Amartya Sen (2011). The Idea of Justice. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
