Social Justice Isn't Justice

The term “social justice” was coined by Luigi Taparelli d’Azeglio, a theologian seeking to defend civil society from state intrusion. But now it has become an ideology promoted by the Left that seeks to replace justice — in which individuals are judged on their own merits and actions — with a system that shows favoritism to members of groups that have been historically oppressed or certain socio-economic situations. Ultimately, social justice promotes government power by requiring that the state fix whatever problem is deemed to require such “justice.”

In 2006, the United Nations specifically defined the idea of social justice as economic, stating that social justice is “the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth,” and declared that “social justice is not possible without strong and coherent redistributive policies conceived and implemented by public agencies.”

The progressive social justice ideology views people as members of groups rather than as individuals and looks to give certain privileges or exceptions to certain victim groups. Intersectionality has been particularly promoted by social justice activists and feminists, who  seek to address how “overlapping identities — including race, class, ethnicity, religion and  sexual orientation — impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.”

This social justice view of people’s actions ultimately undermines personal accountability and the concept of “blind” or indiscriminate justice.

Jordan Peterson on the dangers of the Left’s view of group identity: “You're an exemplar of your race, sex, or sexual preference. You're also either a victim or an oppressor. No wrong can be done by anyone in the former group, and no good by the latter. Such ideas of victimization do nothing but justify the use of power and engender intergroup conflict.”

In Luke 12, Jesus is confronted by a man who wants him to redistribute wealth. Jesus replies, “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?” and then rebukes the man for being envious of his sibling.

In Jesus’s “Parable of the Talents,” a man entrusted three of his workers with his wealth. The workers who wisely invested the money they had been given were praised. In other words, individuals were held accountable for their handling of money and God deliberately did not give people the same amount of wealth or “privileges.”

Just like the New Testament, the Old Testament never called for wealth redistribution.

Related video: “Was Jesus a Socialist?” – Lawrence Reed

Jesus’ “Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard” is a testament to the principles of supply and demand, private property, and voluntary contracts — not progressivism.

In Luke 10:7, Jesus says, “the worker deserves his wages.”

The Tenth of the Ten Commandments rails against envy of another man’s possessions.

Many of Jesus’s own disciples thought he was going to bring about a political revolution, but Jesus continued to reiterate his spiritual mission until his death.

Holding a group to a different standard  than  another  based on a superficial difference such as skin color is  racial discrimination.  For example, in the aftermath of the Ferguson and Baltimore  riots, the violence perpetrated by minority rioters was excused by many as acceptable for reasons that are ultimately paternalistic and racist.

Social justice initiatives, like affirmative action, hold groups to different standards—and studies have shown that it just serves to marginalize and stigmatize those groups. As  The Atlantic  puts it, “racial preference policies often stigmatize minorities, reinforce pernicious stereotypes, and undermine the self-confidence of beneficiaries...”  

Recent affirmative action reports have found that when lower-performing minorities are thrown in with higher performing groups, they often suffer from the “mismatch effect,” resulting in lower self-confidence and being overwhelmed, leading many to drop out.  

Ben Shapiro on the Left’s “victimization” narrative: “According to the Left, all inequality in America is due to victimization. They start by claiming that all non-white people in America are victims of ‘white privilege.’ Then come women. They’re all are victims of the patriarchy. Then come gays, lesbians and the transgendered – they’re all victims of our ‘heteronormative’ and ‘homophobic’ society. But what if you haven’t actually been victimized by anybody? It doesn’t matter. To the left, so long as you  feel  victimized, you’re a victim.”  

Progressive-controlled college campuses are increasingly characterized by “victimhood culture.”  

Related reading:  “No Campus for  White Men: The Transformation of Higher Education into Hateful Indoctrination” – Scott Greer