My daughter attends a private Catholic High School for young women. She will graduate on May 30, spend the summer working to save spending money, and then enter college in mid August. She has always attended Catholic school and has always been exposed to Catholic theology.
She has taken required religion courses every semester for the past 12 years. This last semester she took a course entitled Social Justice. The exact meaning of the term is open to discussion; however, in the Catholic faith it generally is attached to the larger notion that the role of the church needs to expand to advocate for fairness, equity, and freedom for all people.
The church of course has its other-worldly concerns. Like members of many faiths we Catholics would one day like to get to heaven, yet more and more the church also has this-worldly concerns. My daughter was exposed to many of these latter concerns over the course of her last semester in high school.
One topic was the Arizona Immigration Law and immigration law in general. Who should be allowed into this country and under what conditions? What should be done with those immigrants who have entered the country illegally? What services should be available to those who are in the country illegally?
These are thorny questions. Some say that illegal immigrants are simply breaking the law, that laws should be enforced and that the Arizona law simply attempts to enforce federal law that the federal authorities will not enforce. They point almost exclusively to the negative aspects of non-enforcement of our immigration laws. They point to the crimes committed by illegal persons, the gangs and drug traffic administered by illegal aliens, whether they be Eastern European or South American or African, and the high cost of providing education, health care, and other services to those who do not pay taxes.
Others say that a moral society should never turn its back on those in need. They oppose the Arizona Law, and one would suppose federal immigration law in general.
What is Social Justice? Is our current immigration law mean-spirited or draconian? What would it take for instance to immigrate to New Zealand? If you are over 50 and possess no particular skills the answer is essentially it cannot be done. What would it take to live in New Zealand illegally? It would be very difficult and an illegal person would not be able to get a job.
What would it take to immigrate to Mexico. Check into the notion yourself and be prepared to be surprised.
Still, this is all perhaps irrelevant to the underlying moral issues. What is, is one thing, while what ought to be is quite another.
So, what ought to be? What is Social Justice?
I teach philosophy to college students. We often talk about all the notions and theories applicable to a just society.
Plato said that the just society should be governed by Philosopher Kings, specially trained and tested. He detested the very ideal of a democracy. He did not think that persons are born with equal capacities.
Karl Marx believed that all justice is tied to economics. Marx despised Capitalists. He advocated for a just government that would place workers in charge of the means of production.
John Stuart Mill believed that what is just is that which creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Many contemporary Utilitarians believe that anything an individual keeps for themselves above and beyond what they need to survive (roof over the head, food, etc.,) is unjust, unless and until everyone everywhere has the basics needed for survival.
The Harvard professor John Rawls believed that inequality in wealth is only justified when everyone in the society benefits from the inequality; thus, it might be moral for a neurosurgeon to earn an amount higher than a baker, but only if they both benefit. They might at some time. The baker might need the services of a neurosurgeon. But what about the CEO who earns 1000 times more than the average worker. What could justify such inequality. I think Rawls would say - nothing.
We will hear more and more about Social Justice. We all might need to do a bit of homework before we decide what we feel is just.
Recent Comments