Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sunday Reflection: The Meaning of "Social Justice"
On Friday, I got a wonderful question from a student (which is usually where the best questions, and some of the best answers, come from). Pamela Steinle, who is in my criminal practice class this semester, asked me "to you, what does the term 'social justice' mean?"
The question is an especially good one in the context of St. Thomas Law School. Social justice is an explicit part of St. Thomas' very short mission statement, in fact: "The University of St. Thomas School of Law, as a Catholic law school, is dedicated to integrating faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice." One of the reasons that St. Thomas was interested in hiring me in the first place was my own focus on social justice issues in my advocacy and scholarship.
All of which makes Pamela's question important. What is 'social justice?'
The and wrong answer (for me personally) is that social justice is a set of defined positions on social/political issues. Certainly, it can mean exactly that within a church (such as Catholicism) which carefully defines what that church views as just in a variety of contexts, but I'm not a Catholic. Certainly, there are some like me who are not Catholic, but still view "social justice" as a set of liberal political beliefs, and I reject that definition as well.
So, that's what social justice isn't. But what is it?
What I told Pamela, and what I believe, is that social justice work is engaging in a dialogue on a social/political issue that does lead to justice. In other words, it isn't a position, it's a process, a process of discussion and debate. Within that debate, those engaged DO share a very important common belief that defines the project more than anything-- that the issue is important, and worth discussing as we move towards a societal consensus.
In my own work, this definition of social justice allows me to do something remarkable: It lets me love those who oppose me. I can see both myself and those who oppose my view as engaging in social justice work, even admirable social justice work. When I talk to death penalty advocates, those people who are advocates for the death penalty have something in common with me-- we both care about this issue, think it is important, and are participating in a process that will help define what happens next.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies; and certainly that means we should love those who merely oppose us on political issues. Part of that love must be that we ascribe the best motives to them, rather than the worst; that we see them as our collaborators in a journey to truth rather than a roadblock; and as very much the child of God that we are, each as they were created.
That said, I love the ability I have at St. Thomas to wade into these ideas of social justice. In these few months I will teach in a classroom, debate a worthy opponent (at St. Thomas), lobby a governor (in Illinois), preach a sermon (in Richmond), lecture to a crowd (in Chicago), present a paper (in DC), and try a case (Richmond). It's a lot to do, but in each role I am the same person, and that person is one who is very glad to be on the journey, and to find the people who are beside me along the road.
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Social justice is a "process of discussion and debate." Spoken like a true professor. I'd like to think that the answer is more definitive than that. Social justice exists in those fleeting moments when the meek stand on equal footing with those of privilege; when truth is spoken to power . . . and power is forced to listen.
# posted by 
: 2:34 AM
: 2:34 AM
Anon- but, isn't what you are describing a process- the same one I do? And can't the powerful sometimes engage in social justice? (not that it happens enough).
I still like what Jeff Daniels (ala Joshua Chamberlain) had to say, we all have value. Every person is made in the image of God and we all have value. It is about more than fairness or mere justice, but that in the balance, pardon the pun, every individual, every life within God's good creation, has purpose, value, and a spark of the divine. The advocacy is for those who have been or are treated by others as less than valuable.
Yesterday, at a seminar, I asked the question "What is social justice?". Terry Gallagher, the speaker, gave a great answer. I asked him to repeat his answer and he emailed me this response.
"Social justice for me is being concerned with Systems of Oppression that hurt/hinder the right to wholeness of any segment of society. It may be a denial of basic human rights, it may be systems of economics that exclude/discriminate, it may be a hierarchal class discrimination system which determines limits based on what group of people or culture or even location of your birth and then on this basis denies some and rewards others.
Social justice is different from charity which might be illustrated by this story:
A group of people picnicking at a river observed a body floating down the river and someone jumped into the water to rescue that person. But then came a second body and then a third and then even more. While everyone was jumping into the river to save someone, one man instead headed upriver to see if he could stop whatever was forcing the bodies into the river in the first place.
Rescuing the individual bodies is is charity, stopping the evil forces pushing them into the river is Social Justice.
Both are necessary."
Terrence Gallagher
"Social justice for me is being concerned with Systems of Oppression that hurt/hinder the right to wholeness of any segment of society. It may be a denial of basic human rights, it may be systems of economics that exclude/discriminate, it may be a hierarchal class discrimination system which determines limits based on what group of people or culture or even location of your birth and then on this basis denies some and rewards others.
Social justice is different from charity which might be illustrated by this story:
A group of people picnicking at a river observed a body floating down the river and someone jumped into the water to rescue that person. But then came a second body and then a third and then even more. While everyone was jumping into the river to save someone, one man instead headed upriver to see if he could stop whatever was forcing the bodies into the river in the first place.
Rescuing the individual bodies is is charity, stopping the evil forces pushing them into the river is Social Justice.
Both are necessary."
Terrence Gallagher
# posted by : 4:10 PM
: 4:10 PM
Your reflection starts from a question you got in class, a class related to Criminal Justice, I assume. So it makes me think first of the initial context of your topic. I see Criminal Justice as a minefield of moral depravities and the fact that you are dedicated [with the help of an environment like St Thomas] to look at it as a process, is a much needed change in a profession that has been steadily loosing moral ground in the public eye. As I understand it (and I am not even remotely related to the field of Law) the Penal Code has a fairly defined set of boundaries with which it dispenses justice. Now, Social Justice (I think) is a completely different issue, for the word “justice” has extremely loose moral boundaries and varies across cultural, economical and political spectrum. For that reason engaging in a Social Justice process, like you rightfully call it, has to start with political neutrality and the next most basic aspect of a society, public health (mental health a key element too). Yes, public health!
Public health is the foundation of a socially just society and if one wants to take the “pulse” of a socially just environment they only need to look at the existing public health issues. Mortality rates are closely related to social justice all across the globe, the United States included. The value asigned to human life is unequivocably fundametal justice.
Take a concrete example: type 2 diabetes a disease with high incidence in the US and affecting mostly people with unhealthy, unbalanced diets. It can be easily detected, treated and kept in check, yet most of the people that lose limbs and suffer other of the devastating effects of not having it detected or treated in time come from poor inner city, US. Not any different than poor Any Place, Third World.
Plus what is one's most basic concern first thing they wake up in the morning, ready to face another day, what is it that one most often thanks God for?
It is the most basic human need, your health or that your health is taken care of, so that you can go out there and make your contribution to society. A just one, hopefully!
Public health is the foundation of a socially just society and if one wants to take the “pulse” of a socially just environment they only need to look at the existing public health issues. Mortality rates are closely related to social justice all across the globe, the United States included. The value asigned to human life is unequivocably fundametal justice.
Take a concrete example: type 2 diabetes a disease with high incidence in the US and affecting mostly people with unhealthy, unbalanced diets. It can be easily detected, treated and kept in check, yet most of the people that lose limbs and suffer other of the devastating effects of not having it detected or treated in time come from poor inner city, US. Not any different than poor Any Place, Third World.
Plus what is one's most basic concern first thing they wake up in the morning, ready to face another day, what is it that one most often thanks God for?
It is the most basic human need, your health or that your health is taken care of, so that you can go out there and make your contribution to society. A just one, hopefully!
As for me, all I know is that I know nothing, for when I don't know what justice is, I'll hardly know whether it is a kind of virtue or not, or whether a person who has it is happy or unhappy.
Socrates
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