Some Facts About Social Justice

By Peter Allen


Socialism is a rather broad topic that a lot of people have been exposed to either in class or maybe through news about rallies and movements. One of the most common concepts in socialist movements is the concept of social justice and is a broad topic that this ideology centers on . In order for one to understand what it is about, one has to first break down its definition and go from there.

As mentioned above, this concept is really all about equality and ensuring that all people have equal access to basic human rights. While the definition of human rights may differ per state or country, they basically encompass equal access to healthcare, equal opportunities for work, and equal treatment under the law. Any form of prejudice is known as social injustice and is something that the socialist movements are strongly against.

When one would hear this term though, most people would think about the leftist movements or the Democrats. However, it is important to take note that it is not a concept that is monopolized by just one political or religious movement. There are many movements or parties that embrace this ideology and are usually independent from each other as they each have their own brand or perception of the concept.

Another interesting thing to take note of is that this term has also been lumped together with extremist groups like the communists since communists and even Marxists have been using this term heavily. It is true that they do advocate this form of justice, their definitions tend to be a bit more radical and differ than its definition today. Today, the concept is found in many ideologies whether it has a heavy or light influence.

While that is the view of socialism in the past, today sees a different fight for this kind of justice in the form of human rights movements. Since the concept revolves around equality, it is no surprise that human rights activists would take up its mantle and fight for it to benefit the people. With a very prejudiced society, these activists aim to level out the playing field with more reforms.

One example would be the prevalence of racism in Western culture. In the criminal system, Latinos and African American individuals are not treated the same way that white convicts are. This in itself is a form of racism that harms these ethnic groups that happen to live in that society.

Another thing that socialist groups are fighting for would be healthcare. According to their ideology, healthcare is a basic human right that should be given to all people equally without any prejudice since it makes up the entire well being of a person. They want to reform the present system wherein quality healthcare is sometimes viewed as a privilege for those who have money.

This concept of justice is simply the concept of equality for all the citizens in society. According to groups advocating this concept, it is the government that is supposed to follow this concept in order to create harmony for its people. It is definitely a great concept or principle to follow but difficult to implement due to the many different views that many groups have of it.




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