From divine duty to modern rights: the shifting meaning of social justice
Once a term for the monarch's obligations and the duties of the soul, social justice has evolved into a global framework for human rights. But how did a concept rooted in religious natural law transform into a cornerstone of modern political and economic institutions?
The term 'social justice' emerged in the late 18th century, initially describing the justice of society and the obligations of monarchs. In the early 1840s, the Jesuit Luigi Taparelli established a natural law principle linking social justice to the 'brotherly love' found in human interdependence. By the mid-19th century, thinkers like John Stuart Mill argued for an abstract standard where society treats all who deserve it equally well, while the 1/20th-century American legal tradition, led by figures like Louis Brandeis and Roscoe Pound, applied these ideas to labor laws and economic regulation.
Philosophical interpretations vary significantly. Ancient Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle focused on community harmony and merit-based distribution, though Plato's views often reflected the rigid, unequal hierarchies of his time. In the 20th century, John Rawls revolutionized the field with 'A Theory of Justice' (1971), proposing that justice denies the loss of freedom for some even for a greater collective good. He viewed society as a fair system of cooperation, where the state holds a duty to protect fundamental liberties, from freedom of conscience to the rule of law.
Today, the concept encompasses diverse modern goals, including 'contributive justice'—the importance of meaningful participation in community life—and the 'capabilities approach' championed by Martha Nussbaum, which emphasizes fostering the essential functions of a human life. While some critics, such as Friedrich Hayek, have dismissed the term as being too conceptually vague, it remains central to international institutions like the International Labour Organization and serves as a foundational principle in various national constitutions, from Ireland to Cuba.
Source: Social justice
