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SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Evolution of
the Concept of Social Justice
ONE OF THE IRONIES OF THE EARLY twenty-first century is that ideological struggles between and within nations have intensified a decade after the end of the Cold War. Today, proponents of diametrically opposed visions of society, secular and religious, march under the banner of social justice. As desirable social and political goals are depicted in starkly different forms, labels like "good" and "evil" become interchangeable and the meaning of social justice becomes obscured. As it has been for millennia, the concept of social justice is now used as a rationale for maintaining the status quo, promoting far-reaching social reforms, and justifying revolutionary action. If liberals and conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and radical secularists all regard their causes as socially just, how can we develop a common meaning of the term?
Although fascinating and vitally important, a full exploration of this question is better suited for another essay. This article will focus instead, somewhat more narrowly, on how the concept of social justice in Western societies has influenced contemporary social welfare. The evolution of this concept reflects, in part, the shift towards a secular and materialist culture, and the changes this transformation produced in people's fundamental assumptions about human nature, society, and the state. As the meaning of social justice changed, it became increasingly complex and conflict-ridden, both as an idea and in its applications. Today, for example, our understanding of social justice is inextricably connected to our definition of terms like equality and freedom, and to sweeping policy questions about the relative responsibilities and obligations of individuals and society.
Originally, the idea of social justice was groupspecific-that is, it was applied solely to a particular people or nation with the intention of redressing the effects of hierarchical inequalities, particularly inherited inequalities. The Bible, for example, introduces the idea of a "jubilee year," when slaves would be freed, debts and obligations liquidated, and land returned to its original owners. In this usage, however, social justice was not regarded as universal in its application. Also, it focused primarily on issues of economic redistribution largely among individuals.
In The Republic, Plato (1974, trans.) expanded the meaning of justice by equating it with human well-being. He linked the concept...