What is Social Justice?

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 337 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  What is Social Justice?  Share Tweet Forward

Social justice looks at how a society chooses to distribute the things that we value, among them income, wealth, powers, and more. Social justice asks: What is the right thing to do? Nearly 2,500 years ago, Plato got the philosophical discussion of justice going, and we have yet to agree on an understanding.  Contemporary philosopher Michael J. Sandel identifies three goals a society can use to guide the distribution of goods - we can either seek to maximize welfare, or to promote the virtue of the citizenry, or to respect individual freedoms. Each of these rival ideas requires a different understanding of justice, as each finds its way into our lawmaking.  The welfare idea that social justice is determined by the consequences of a policy is rooted in the philosophy of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism holds that the right thing to do is that which maximizes welfare. For utilitarians, a just policy is one that increases the collective happiness of society. Utilitarians believe that the highest principle of morality is to maximize happiness by weighting costs and benefits.  Alternatively, the idea that for lawmaking to be just, it should elevate the virtue of citizens reflects the Aristotelian view that the law should be interested in questions of, what is a good life? According to Aristotle, the law should allocate goods so as to promote the virtues of the citizenry. But, since there are competing conceptions of a virtuous society, our modern thinking is that the law should be neutral on this respect. The theories of justice that underpin our rights should not rely on any particular conception of virtue. Freedom requires that citizens, on their own, choose the best way to live.  Both of these ideas of social justice conflict with Professor Sandel’s third approach to justice, which defines justice as respecting freedoms and individual rights. This is a free-market conception of justice that recognizes and safeguards our voluntary choices. Markets allow people to choose how to value the things they decide to exchange. Markets respect our individual freedoms.  The utilitarian idea that a just policy is one that increases the collective happiness of society sounds reasonable until we begin to explore its values. For example, is morality a question of calculating cost and benefits, or are there human rights above such calculations? Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) made the utilitarian position clear when he scorned natural rights calling them “nonsense upon stilts.” Utilitarianism can not respect individual rights given its focus on the “greatest happiness.”  In our society, these philosophical concepts are best illustrated by policies that tax the rich disproportionally to purportedly help the poor. Let’s use taxation as an example. According to the Internal Revenue Service, our tax policies in 2014 showed that:  The share of income earned by the top 1 percent of taxpayers was 20.6 percent. But their share of federal income taxes paid was 39.5 percent. This 39.5 share of income taxes paid was greater than the share of taxes paid by the bottom 90 percent combined (29.1 percent). The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97.3 percent of all individual income taxes while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 2.7 percent  To some, this disproportionate taxation is as it should be. To others, it violates our fundamental rights. Regardless of what may be the good intentions of government, persons, (in this example high-income individuals), should not be used as means to the welfare of others. On what grounds is our labor at the disposal of society as a whole? Human beings deserve government’s respect, regardless of who they are, or how much they earn. These tax policies treat high- income individuals as instruments to advance the collective happiness of others.  Our tax code reflects a conception of justice based on a certain understanding of the good life, and it is in conflict with freedom. Even desirable ends must not supersede individual rights. Social justice is not about maximizing happiness. Social justice is about respecting people as ends in themselves. Let’s be careful, if democratic consent validates the appropriation of property, does it also justify the taking of freedom?  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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