As we have all witnessed in the world today, there is hardly equality in the world since circumstances of every citizen seems to be different from the other. It is in the search of equalizing opportunities that the government eventually introduced social justice. Social justice deals with equal distribition of ecenomic resorces and opportunities. The term has been defined differently by various schorlars depending on the situation on which it is used;be it economic, political or even in the religious sphere. The term refers to justice in all aspects of the society. Justice refers to anything that is fair regardless of the situation or field. The orxford dictionery defines justice as “the quality of being fair and reasonable”. The National Association of Social Workers states that “social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. Social workers aim to open the doors of access and opportunity for everyone, particularly those in greatest need” .
Social justice ensures poeple have equal access to resources, opportunities and freedom to chose what they want. This means to ensure the well being of those who are not economically endowed in the society. Those who controll economic resources tend to opress the common citizens as they struggle to consolidate power and the few resources in their favor. The term is mostly used in the political and economic sphere of life mostly in cicumstances where the disadvantaged groups in the society seek to express their national interest. In the history of the american nation, the most common fight for social justice was that against racism. African american people fought to have equal opportunities in all aspects of their lives. This included the right to their own freedom and also to other basic needs like health and education.
According to John Rawls,a philosopher and a great theorist, social justice was shaped by two things in the 20th century in America; the increase in consumption and the adoption of the civil rights movement. He defined justice as fairness which to him was more of a virtue in a social setting. He argued that everyone in society should have equal rights and inequalities should be shared among everyone and not experienced by just a few people in the society. Some have argured that this is an unjust practice where some people have to work for others. The historical experiencs of this two circumstances shaped the diffrent ideologies that sorround social justice.
The world war two resulted in massive increase in consumption. There was a rapid increase in the production of consumer goods to feed the growing demand.Manufacturing companies increased their production and mainly focused on advertising to promote consumption of goods that were unnecessary and considered a luxury to many. This resulted in the rise of the disposable income as well as the increase in the expenditure. The manufacturing companies focused on making huge profits which encouraged private consumption. The working class now had increased workload and were highly exploited with long working hours and harsh working conditions and very poorly paid. This created a division in the economic status where there are few rich people and many poor people. There was class sruggle which led to the rise of civil rights movements. America became a class society even as many argued it was not.
All these sequence of activites affected the economy in a negative way; the education system and the development of the infrastructure were negleted. There was need to increase public spending with a focus mainly in education, health, medical services and road infrastruture. There were massive inequalities with the rich living comfortably with their children going to proper schools while the poor people could berely afford education. This resulted in the need to promote equality by ensuring all the people have equal access to economic resources. Equality in this case being defined as having access to economic resources for everyone in the society. A just society could be achieved by ensuring equal distribution of goods and services and improving the standard of living inorder to eradicated poverty. The focus was mainly on improving the conditions of the poor by creating employment. The government tried to do this while being careful to ensure they are not exploited by the rich.
The resulting inequalities brought about by mass consumption resulted in the rise of civil rights movements. Civil rights meant organized groups that were regulated by institutions. They mainly advocated for citizens legal rights. This movements were mostly associated with the African american who were the subjects of racial discrimination, slavery and exploitation. The civil rights movements aimed at promoting the rights of the African American by fighting the evil vices that segregated them from the rest of the American society. The movements were non-violent at first. However, their demands were not taking effect and they resulted in drama to ensure they have an impact in their cause for justice and equality. Many poeple were killed as the black people fought for thier place in the soceity.The rampage had a great impact on the economy of the country since the protestors participated in vandalism of homes structures and even on schools and even places of worship. This destruction had a very negative impact on the infrustructure.
The drama that resulted from this movements changed the American social vision.Different segments of the national population began to identify with movements that were now begining to form in every sector of the society.Some examples of the sectors that formed movemments include, the American Indians joined the movements infight of the white’s people dormination and discrimination. The women movements took effect after the civil rights movement to advocate for the rights of the minotiry in the American society. Gay people who are defined as people attracted to the same sex began to fight for their way of life to be acceptable in the society and thus called for non-discrimination and civil rights protection.over 3000 people converged in washington to support the gay and lesbianism movement. This fight has never really been settled as it was still an issue for the american president to handle during his campaign for the recent elections this year.
The civil rights movements gained their popularity in the media and most of their mandates were fulfilled. This resulted in the decline of racial segregation of the 20th century and a thin line can now be drawn between the opressor and the opressed. There has also been an upward mobility among the minority groups.
Social justice advocates for a society characterized by equality,justice for all,social democracy and freedom of the peolple to express their rights. This can be achieved only if wealth is distributed equally among people in the society. The poeple have access to social amenities like medical services, education, employment and other basin resources. The thoeries of justice tend to assume that fairness can only be achieved through redistribution of the abundant resources. Those with more resources should share with the less privelaged in the society. This way we are able to promote equality. Policy makes should also make a point of adressing the plight of the needy in the society in decision making. This however is not as simple as it sounds. This is because, most people have attained their wealth through effort and hardwork. They cannot therefore be asked to forfeit the friuts of their labour to the advantage of the less fortunate. This is why the government has had a hard time in implementing the policies that promote equality in wealth like taxing the richer highly. These are some of the problems that are always recurring in the society today. President Obama also tackled this problem in his campaign arguments but said he would not tax the rich highly in order to redistribute wealth.
Unfortunately even after the great effort and many unions and movements, the American society has not been able to achieve social justice. The cost of education has been increasing rapidly thus many qualified candidates cannot afford access to institutions of higher learning. The gap between the wealthy Americans and the poor is widening day by day despite the fact that the country is an industrialized nations. The tax codes are also favorable to the wealthy in the society. The justice system is so corrupt such that the perpetrators of crime do not get justice and escape with their crimes. Freedom of speech and privacy is also imposed through extensive surveillance as a result of September 11 attack. In addition, discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, or race continues to perpetrate in the society. Oppression of women is also common and male domination persists.
People should be allowed to exercise their rights in regard to their position in the society. Measures to ensure social justice should be put in place. In a society where social justice exsist people should be allowed to express thier democratic rights whithout intimidation. The poeple should have equal constutitional rights which are protected by the goverment. The elected goverment should listen to the majority and implement their opinions.The goverment should use its subsidies to support the less disadvantaged in the society.This will help in eradicating poverty and increasing per capita income.Democratic values can be achieve through allowing citizens to excise their rights in voting for their desired leaders. Voting against racial or enthnic lines is a form of injustice in the society. Gender equality is also imortant in promting social justice. Women shoulgd be allowed to exversice their democtartic rights through equal participation and representation. Gender equality is where both men and women are considered to have the same value and that none is more superior than the other. In that, both genders are offered the same opportunities and access to resources. Women’s reproductive rights should be protected; they have aright o be protected against sexual harrasment and they also should have a control over their bodies inluding matters of contraception. There is also need for the goverment to promote equal employment opportunities among genders.
There is need to end poverty and eradicate economic inequalities as this is the source of all injustices in the society. Educational should be made affordable to all poeple by aiding schools for example by providing infrustructures and additional resources used in the learning of education systems. Cultural diversity should also be adopted in the education institution. Employment opportunities can be increased by creating a sustainable economy;recycling and agricultural production should be expanded to create jobs. Tax reduction can be achieved through reduction in welfare and military budget and corporate spending.
Works Cited
Alexander, R. Racism, African Americans, and Social Justice. Ranham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Print.
American civil rights movement. American civil rights movement, 2012. Web. 8 December 2012.
National Association of Social workers. Social Justice, 2012. Web. 8 December 2012.
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictioneries, 2012. Web. 8 December 2012.
Rawls, J. A Thoery of justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.
Zweig, M. What's Class Got to Do With It?: American Society in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Cornell University Press, 2004. Print.
