The terminology of social justice has been a hot topic for a while, at least since the past decade. Some people are heavy supporters of the social justice movement, while others are both unsupportive and outright mocking of both the movement and the followers of it. While this is not a new concept, it's worth taking a deeper look at the meaning of social justice, both linguistically and politically, to find out why it's such a polarizing topic for many people.
First, let's think of the meaning behind social justice. According to the Oxford dictionary, social justice is "justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society". In terms of the rights being fought for, this doesn't sound like anything too bad; wealth, opportunities, and privileges. But the key factor in this definition, and the thing that is most heavily debated, is the definition of justice. In almost all dictionaries found online, the definition of justice is simply equitability, righteousness, being morally fair. There is never any mention in mainstream linguistics of how that justice may be carried out. So naturally, people drew their own conclusions. And this is where the misinterpretation of the term began, and why it's such a hotly debated concept.
Some people think that, because the concept of social justice is everyone else is getting the same quality of treatment that they are, that they themselves must have to give up their privileges. Instead of having the mentality that the movement is about raising others up, they believe it is to tear them down, and become combative to any notion of change. But in actuality, the concept of social justice is to create a country where everyone has the resources to grow and thrive, while also tearing down as little people as possible along the way.
Great post! I agree, a lot of the negative opinions that people hold towards social justice stem from a lack of understanding of what social justice is. At its core, social justice is about helping everyone and improving society as a whole, and many people don't realize how it can help improve their lives too.
ReplyDeleteI really like this look at how this phrase works linguistically versus how it is generally interpreted. I would also wonder whether another key difference is what it interpreted by different groups to be "fair," "righteous," or "equitable," as well as how to carry justice out. Like as well as disagreeing over how to reach a just world, there seems to be some discrepancy of opinion about what one would even look like.
ReplyDeleteI think you're absolutely right! Especially your point about how people think that equal treatment for everyone will result in less privilege for them. I think a lot of far right news channels are also aware of that, and take advantage of people's fears. Great post!
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