1. Perspectives on Social Justice Context for “Distributive Justice”

2. Three Broad Traditions  Conservativism  Plato  Aquinas  “Social Teachings” of the Catholic Church  Rerum novarum (1891)  Quadragesimo Anno (1931)  Post-Vatican II focus on individual or personal rights and tie or convergence with “human rights”  Liberalism  John Locke  Adam Smith  John Stuart Mill  Socialism  Marxism--Marx and Engels  Democratic Socialism--Eduard Bernstein

3. The Conservative tradition  Plato’s Republic--the “ideal”, “just”, or “good” society  ordered society hierarchically  three social classes each performing its task as intended by nature or by the gods  Laborers/artisans  Guardians  Philosophers--among which is drawn the “philosopher king”  That “just society” allows individuals to live the “good life”

4. Conservatism (continued) Catholic Social Teachings  Leo XIII writes Rerum Novarum  Response to industrial modernization  Asserts place in society of labor  Becomes basis for “corporatism”  Followed by Quadragesimo Anno (1931)  Anti-socialist and  Anti-liberal  Emergence of “Catholic Social Teaching”  Emphasis on worker and the poor  Convergence with “communitarianism”  Influence of Vatican II  Accommodation with pluralist society  Maintains emphasis on human life  Tie with growing “human rights” movement

5. Liberalism  John Locke  Emphasis on the individuals rights:  Life  Liberty  Property  Individuals pursue self-interest (property)  Equality  Separation of church and state  Adam Smith provides economic theory  Why does the baker bake bread?  The “invisible hand” provides for the best society  John Rawls provides a “theory of justice”  A society based on self-interest in fairness  Constructed from behind the “veil of ignorance”

6. Socialism  Marx and Engels  Radical break with liberalism  Private property incompatible with just society  Development of Leninism and Maoism in 20th Century  Eduard Bernstein and democratic socialism  Violent revolution abandoned  Acceptance of liberal democratic regimes  Vision of the just society through public ownership of the major segments of economy

7. Distributive Justice (social justice in the liberal tradition) Points raised by Miller:  Justice has to do with fair distribution of…well what? A careful but not dogmatic delimiting of goods and services to be included  Meeting needs considered basic or a right: Housing? Medical care? Higher education?  Fair reward relative to contribution: The person who contributes to society something that is twice as valuable should be rewarded more than those contributing less?  An essential equality regarding access to those things deemed within the limits of “social justice” and in sharing the burdens-- taxes, military service.  Miller, in this chapter, prepares the reader for those things he would leave out.  We cannot force people to be happy; we cannot guarantee contentment--so it is not a delimited item.  The list requires that we, as a society, share a broad consensus on the value of goods, services, and opportunities.

8. Miller continued  Miller insists on the necessity of the state as well as substate institutions for enforcement and practice of social justice  For Miller, the just society is not international; it is not global

9. Questions 1.What of the international or global community? 2.When should the people of one society intervene in the affairs of another to stop “injustice”? 3.When should the people of a society act to stop “injustice” within that same society? 4.Does “national identity” have anything to do with answers to the first three questions? 5.How might social justice relate to democracy? 6.Does democracy bring about social justice? (Are the “mobs” just?) 7.How does social justice relate to digital media? 8.Is access or equality in access to digital media a matter of social justice? 9.Does (access to) digital media lead to the extension of social justice?