Social justice existed in a society when the people of that community had an equal share in the way they were treated. That is, and everyone had a fair share of the resource allocation to the citizens. For instance, every region is equally developed in terms of hospitals, schools, social amenities, and road networks. It was not just the presence of these facilities, but the provision of quality services equitably to all the citizens is what made social justice a good practice (Chaffee, 2013). Quality housing, education and in addition, quality primary health care were considered a prerogative of the national government. Whatever policies the federal government formulated to govern these services ought to be observed across board to ensure that every citizen wherever they were enjoyed these services.
The issue of economic equality was also another measure of social justice. A just society would consider equal economic empowerment of its members. The economic empowerment ought not to discriminate the people on any ground. For instance, whether there were differences in gender, religion, race or ethnicity, discrimination ought not to be seen or practiced (Chaffee, 2013). For a society to be viewed as socially just, all the people no matter their background ought to be economically empowered.
John Rawl's veil of ignorance tries to explain that in the original position, no one knows what his future role in the society would be. In this case, the members of the society must sit down to discuss what role they would play to make the society a just one. It claims that being ignorant to the society would await somebody in the future, and it would be imperative for a organization to operate behind this veil of ignorance. For example, a wealthy person would oppose a system of taxation that reroutes wealth to the poor. A sick person would ultimately support that idea. The theory contends that, if individuals found themselves in the original position of ignorance, they would agree to a social contract. They would be willing to accept a society where wealth and social amenities are equitably distributed to every member of the community.
John Rawl's theory of veil of ignorance is a workable method. It envisions a society where everybody was starting from scratch. In such a society, nobody knows the future and what lies ahead. As a matter of fact, everybody would wish to succeed in the society. But due to unforeseen circumstances, it is impossible for everyone to have the same level of success. Based on the veil of ignorance, it is practical to have a social contract that would cushion the disadvantaged members of the society against unbalanced distribution of resources and amenities. When members of a community were put their original position behind the veil of ignorance, everyone will make sure that the social contract they would be drawing up would ensure fairness and equity in resource allocation. No discrimination would exist based on gender, religion or race (Chaffee, 2013). That would in a way make a just and fair society that every member would be proud to be associated.
Social justice does not primarily depend on the nation's wealth or the level of economic prosperity. The US, for example, was regarded the world over as an economic powerhouse. It was also viewed as a country of equal opportunities for all its citizens. That however was not true. The US, for instance, ranks low in poverty prevention especially for the black population. Poverty prevention was regarded as a pillar of social justice and should, as a result, be a priority for any government. The other areas of social justice where the US ranks low includes, discrimination in the labor market, access to quality education for every school going child. In addition, access to quality health care for its citizens as well as social cohesion and discrimination ranks low as well (Elliott, 2011).
The Marxist theory, though a controversial theory in its nature, provided a different approach towards balancing social justice. Karl Marx, a leftist politician, viewed capitalism as the greatest obstacle to social justice. He made a raft of proposals that included entrenchment of communism to counter capitalism and ensure fair and equitable distribution of resources. He argued that, ideas originated mostly from either materialistic or economic values. He thus wanted the people to be economically empowered first in order to make valuable contributions to the society.
In a capitalist state, Marx argued that the elite controlled the capital while the low class controlled the labor. The rich would then employ the poor and manufacture products that they would sell at a profit. Marx saw this as an exploitative. The relations between the forces of production were an issue to Marxists. The conflicts between classes were also a reason for concern to the Marxists (Hill & Jones, 2007). Those who owned capital in a capitalist society versus those who held labor was always going to be the cause of conflict. He pointed out that the history was a struggle between different classes for dominance. He, therefore, wanted the establishment of a communist society to get rid of capitalism and in essence, bring to end class struggles between the capitalists and the labor market.
References
Chaffee, J. (2013). The philosopher's way: A text with readings : thinking critically about profound ideas. Boston: Pearson Education.
Elliott Justin (2011). Why inequality in America is even worse than you thought. Retrieved on 28th November 2014 from: www.salon.com/2011/10/29
Hill, C. W. L., & Jones, G. R. (2007). Strategic management: An integrated approach. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin.
