Web log 3

Web Log 3

Social justice is a very difficult subject to explain and the reason for this is because social justice has been defined by many different philosophers and never once has the word had a concrete meaning. Like most government structures, the definition of social justice has been shaped and molded based on political beliefs and more often than not, religious beliefs. Since the definition of social justice is generally undefined, it normally boils down to personal preference. Miller’s ‘Scope of social justice’ and Dr. Hahn’s lecture help explore many of these themes better, and it will help me expand upon the social theories of capitalism vs. socialism.

Perhaps the easiest place to begin the analysis of social justice is with the oldest theory, which was formulated by Plato, the teacher of Aristotle. Plato’s definition of social justice; also considered the ‘Conservative tradition;’ placed society in a hierarchy, where people were placed dependent on the will of the gods. This system was believed to allow people to live the ‘good life’ or the lives that the gods thought they deserved. The conservative view of social justice is a type of caste system where people are born into a certain social class and they cannot leave it, however, in capitalism people may be born into a social class, however, there is no guarantee that they will stay there, due the ever changing economy, and there is no religious beliefs influencing it. Regardless, in capitalism most people tend to stay within the same social class that they were born into.

The next social theory, Liberalism, was created by John Locke, who was one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. The theory of Liberalism was focused on the rights of individuals which were life, liberty, and property, as defined by Locke. Eventually, liberalism would be tweaked and become the basis for the modern day democracy; property being replaced by the pursuit of happiness. The ideas of Liberalism are more open as opposed to being a caste system. It allows people in a society to live the lives that they work for which promotes equality. Liberalism also began the separation of church and state and thus, religion has no effect on its practice.  Capitalism is more like Liberalism; the only major difference being is that capitalism is a form of the economy.  In a much like a liberalist society, capitalism allows for people work towards their own personal goals and doesn’t limit them to a certain social class, however, it’s still like the conservative society because most of the time it is very difficult for one to work their way into a higher social class, and most people tend to stay within the social class they were born into. In capitalism it is also impossible for everyone to live glorified lives, due to the imbalance of pay, so while it is open for everyone to become rich, not everyone can.

The last topic to be discussed is socialism, a social theory created by the German philosopher, Karl Marx. Socialism is the belief that the means of production and distribution of pay should be equal among both the owner of a business and its workers. However in Marx’s theory, socialism would lead to a communist system where classes are forgotten and everything is under common ownership. Socialism presents a different type of social justice than capitalism. The differences in pay between people and their employers are not so vast, and social classes aren’t as heavily defined (I.e. There are no explicitly Rich neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods) as they are in capitalist societies. This also means that people who do very difficult jobs may get paid the same as people who do easier jobs, thus still creating an imbalance in pay. In these ways, socialism is different from capitalism, but they are similar in a few ways as well. There are imbalances in pay in both and they each promote equality through equal opportunity.