Current Social Science Themes and Issues Towards ‘social justice’

SOSC 1000 6.0

Lecture 22/2

Jan Krouzil PhD

August 5, 2021

Agenda

Announcements

PART I Characterising ‘social justice’

PART II ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’

PART III ‘Social justice’ – a post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon?

Keywords

PART I Characterising ‘social justice’ (1)

What does the term ‘social justice’ refer to?

society at large can create or promote positions or situations that favour some and do disservice to others

concept of ‘social justice’

in the 19th century as criticism against society for allowing or favoring economic differences

meant to seek economic equality

now taken on the idea of preventing or reducing ‘wrongs’

provoked by machismo, racism, xenophobia and homophobia (among others)

at times consists of promoting equality

at other times more at recognizing the difference

Characterising ‘social justice’ (2)

expound a general concept of ‘social justice’

based upon philosophy, social sciences and political theory

as a result of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue

faced with very different and even contradictory ways of understanding ‘social justice’

How to understand and approach ‘social justice’?

as a movement ‘social justice’ still under development

approach as an open and dynamic phenomenon

rather than a closed and final concept

identify characteristics and explain by way of a key proposition and by posing questions

Characterising ‘social justice’ (3)

The normative principle – basis for ‘social justice’

upon which standards (moral foundations) develop

something is deemed just or unjust if it agrees with or is against such principles

what ‘causes’ something to be socially unjust?

practice that contradicts the common beliefs formally subscribed to by various groups that all people have equal moral value according to the culture of human rights

given that not all share the same beliefs – difficult to find a normative criterion accepted by all members

Characterising ‘social justice’ (4)

what areas of everyday life involve ‘social justice’?

types of institutions or dimensions

economy, culture and politics

until some decades ago the framework of ‘social justice’ administration (the state-nation) considered the political unit par excellence

the state as the fundamental political framework?

‘social justice’ flexible to diverse frameworks or political units

Characterising ‘social justice’ (5)

fragmented inwardly due to decentralisation processes

local or regional or departmental autonomies created improving the empowerment of the populations (efficiency in justice

administration)

overflowed outwardly through globalisation processes

affecting everyday lives of all populations

even those that try to shield themselves by taking economic, cultural and/or political measures of protectionism

Characterising ‘social justice’ (6)

Any viable strategies for solving ‘social justice’ demands?

utilising strategies that oscillate between conservative and radical aspects

keeping in mind morals, process efficiency and results

conservative

promote the system of free competition

with the free market (free personal actions) will not be any losers

given that each one will endeavour to achieve and obtain the maximum benefit

radical

property and production systems should be restructured

prioritising the welfare of the community more than that of the individual

common property will ensure the welfare of each of its members

Characterising ‘social justice’ (7)

intermediate

accepts a compromise between free individual choice and the community

perspective of society

allowing the redistribution of goods and services of the state to some degree

Which option is the best?

not possible to decide a priori the best and most adequate strategy from normative (to be morally correct) practical points of view (to be efficient in practice)

at times a solution could be moral but inefficient or vice versa.

at other times can be simultaneously good for both normative reasons and efficient practices

practical and normative criteria should be kept in mind

according to the specific context and pursuant to the specific society at issue

Characterising ‘social justice’ (8)

Who should decide how to interpret and to implement ‘social justice’?

Key claim

the democratic community

directly affected by unjust practices

different democratic communities (local, national or international)

to be recognised as the authors of justice

legitimacy of the interpretation and implementation of ‘social justice’

to be granted by the political community through democratic procedures

the educator, the ruler, the social activist (or others) as members with specific roles yet none of them has the absolute power to determine what is just

Characterising ‘social justice’ (9)

Does democracy guarantee ‘social justice’?

not infallible – yet can be reviewed and capable of improvement

not a single society (within a global scenario) where all of its citizens are on equal terms for participating democratically

shortcomings of modern democracy

some groups (poor people, women, indigenous people, homosexuals, immigrants, etc.) ‘democratically’ disadvantaged

many of the oppressed groups democratically gaining within democracy

Characterising ‘social justice’ (10)

democracy bears a paradox

can expand or annihilate itself

vehicle for public power pertaining to the citizens

meant to transform any issue including itself

to be ever more participatory and socially just – democratic

society (local, national or global) should be able to critically

reflect upon itself

Part II ‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (1)

Types of claims for ‘social justice’

redistributive claims

seek a more just distribution of resources and goods

ie claims for redistribution from the North to the South, from the rich to the poor

from owners to workers

claim in the ‘politics of recognition’

assimilation to majority or dominant cultural norms is no longer

the price of equal respect

ie claims for the recognition of distinctive perspectives of ethnic, ‘racial,’ and sexual minorities, as well as of gender difference

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (2)

Discourse of ‘social justice’

once centered on distribution, now divided between claims for redistribution and claims for recognition

two kinds of justice claims dissociated from one another – both practically and intellectually

an either/or choice: redistribution or recognition ?

class politics or identity politics ?

multiculturalism or social equality?

Key argument

‘social justice’ requires both redistribution and recognition (Fraser 1996)

neither alone is sufficient

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (3)

How to integrate into comprehensive framework?

theoretically – devise a “bivalent” conception of justice

accommodate both defensible claims for social equality and defensible claims for the recognition of difference

practically – programmatic political orientation

integrate the best of politics of redistribution with the best of politics of recognition

Key aspects of contrast

different conceptions of injustice

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (4)

politics of redistribution

focuses on injustices it defines as socioeconomic

presumes to be rooted in the economic structure of society

exploitation (one’s labor appropriated for the benefit of others)

economic marginalization (being confined to undesirable or poorly paid work)

deprivation (being denied an adequate material standard of living)

politics of recognition

targets injustices it understands as cultural

presumes to be rooted in social patterns of representation, interpretation, and communication

cultural domination (being subjected to patterns of interpretation and communication that are associated with another culture and are alien and/or hostile to one’s own)

nonrecognition (being

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (5)

different sorts of remedies for injustice

politics of redistribution

economic restructuring

redistributing income

reorganizing the division of labor

democratizing procedures for investment decisions

transforming other basic economic structures

politics of recognition

cultural or symbolic change

upwardly revaluing disrespected identities and the cultural products

recognizing and positively valorizing cultural diversity

transformation of societal patterns of representation, interpretation

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (6)

different conceptions of the collectivities

politics of redistribution

classes or class-like collectivities defined economically by a distinctive relation to the market or the means of production

politics of recognition

more like status group than classes defined by the relations of recognition

distinguished by the lesser esteem, honor, and prestige relative to other groups

different understandings of group differences

politics of redistribution

treats such differences as unjust differentials

not intrinsic, but socially constructed

point is to abolish, not to recognize

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (7)

politics of recognition

group differences are pre-existing, benign cultural variations transformed into a value hierarchy

group differences created through a discursive framework of binary oppositions

Which of these two politics to embrace?

politics of redistribution that seeks to redress economic injustices by abolishing class (and class-like) differential?

politics of recognition that seeks to redress cultural injustices precisely by celebrating cultural variations or deconstructing binary oppositions?

‘false antithesis’ (Fraser1996)

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (8)

Key questions

does ‘social justice’ require the recognition of what is distinctive about individuals or groups over and above the recognition of our common humanity?

how can one conceive redistribution and recognition in such a way as to accommodate both the apparent separation of economy and culture and also their interpenetration?

Toward a conceptual integration

substantive dualism

treats redistribution and recognition as pertaining to two different societal domains

‘Bivalent’ conception of ‘social justice’ (9)

perspectival dualism

treats redistribution and recognition as two different analytical perspectives applied to any social domain

How to think integratively?

by seeking out transformative approaches to redistribution and deconstructive approaches to recognition

‘by looking to integrative approaches that unite redistribution and recognition in the service of participatory parity can requirements of ‘social justice’ for all’ be fulfilled (Fraser 1996)

PART III ‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (1)

Q: can a case be made about whether ‘social justice’ takes the form of

a quasi-religion?

A: takes on many of the qualities of a religion

makes sense in a postmodern context

religious structure that services the same human needs that religions do from within a different paradigm

Ideologically motivated moral communities

what makes moral communities ‘ideologically motivated’?

incorporation of truly, locally, sacrosanct ideas imported from some ideology or faith tradition

formed around a (mostly) shared interpretation of ‘right and wrong’

enforced to some degree by social norms, expectations, and punishments

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (2)

Religions as cultural structures

facilitate the satisfaction of various interrelated psychological and social (psychosocial) needs

needs met by religions address problems faced by human beings in meaning making, control, and social identity and community formation and regulation

need to create an attributional framework that explains the world in terms of the ideology

intersectional Matrix of Domination (Patricia Hill Collins)

seeks to explain how privilege and power form a matrix of domination and oppression which is ultimately rooted in assumptions about identity

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (3)

teleological framework to explain what the point of life is in the context of the operative mythology or ideology

telos is in remaking society into a utopia

social identity and a need for community

framework through which a person can feel good about her/him

both in terms of how she sees her/himself and being seen by others

community in which that framework makes sense and ‘really exists’ (in a sociocultural sense)

to remake communities in line with its operative vision for the world

nearly all of its work is focused upon the actions, thoughts, and various usages of language within vaguely defined communities

ways of speaking to one another using a distinctive dialect

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (4)

‘Social Justice’ institutionalized

arranged so that it can treat its beliefs as ‘knowledge’

universities as institutions for producing and transmitting ‘knowledge’

other institutions, including primary and secondary education and any portions of media, the corporate world, and politics

no claim to ‘knowledge’ possible when epistemological rigor bypassed

knowledge has not just to be true but also to be ‘justified’

‘special revelation’ and morally motivated idea laundering not accepted avenues to justification

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (5)

History of human thought – paradigms

pre-modern, modern, post-modern

stance on the approach to knowledge production and social organization as Enlightenment thought

modern paradigm—Enlightenment thought—is skeptical of faith’s capacity to justify ’knowledge’ claims

Enlightenment thought rejects the idea that any ‘knowledge’ is ‘special’

Faith in ‘social justice’

epistemological justification – clear line between faith-based beliefs and ‘knowledge’

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (6)

post-modern faith not like premodern faith – still faith

looks to the assurance of things hoped for

on the ‘right side of history’

conviction of things not seen

‘Applied postmodernism’ as a social philosophy

axioms treated as articles of faith (Connor Wood)

‘knowledge’ and ‘truth’ largely socially constructed – not objectively discovered

what is believed to be ‘true’ in large part a function of social power

who wields it, who’s oppressed by it, how it influences which messages are heard

power is generally oppressive, self-interested and implicitly zero-sum

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (7)

claims about supposedly objective truth – power plays or strategies for legitimizing particular social arrangements

anti-realist component views ‘objectivity’ as practically unobtainable

concludes that ‘objective reality’ not knowable at all

reality is constructed by and mediated through language

those who hold the power can and do structure language – as ‘discourses’

ways of speaking about things—so that their ‘subjective truths’ treated as the ‘objective truth’

an article of faith in the form of ‘relativism’

professes to believe that there is no reason to privilege any one set of culturally mediated truths over any other

so the truths of any cultural group may be as valid (‘true’) as those of any other

interested in finding ways to forward “other ways of knowing” and the “truths” of oppressed groups

believed to be less recognized only because of a power dynamic of oppression

‘Social justice’ – post-modern ‘quasi-religious’ phenomenon? (8)

‘Social justice’ – a kind of faith system

represents a cultural phenomenon using many of the same means as religion

to address the (nearly) universal underlying human psycho-social needs that people established religions to address

relies on a distinctly (applied) postmodern mythology

fundamentally secular in nature

the ‘separation of church and state’ – a committed prevention of institutionalizing religious doctrines and practice in liberal governments

not technically a religion – a kind of faith system

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