Social Justice Theory

The concept and specifics of social justice are open to interpretation. Each theory has its advantages and flaws, making it difficult to settle on one set of guidelines that would be deemed universally as “just.” Some key issues that social justice theories should address are whether or not social justice depends on equality or aid to those in greater need, how possible is it to remove bias from a social situation, whether or not a society should be working towards a better or a perfect society, and what part does plural grounding play in the process of seeking justice?

One pressing issue that social justice theories should address is whether or not justice is about equal access to equal treatment and resources or providing more aid to those

Or, would it be more just if there were three different sized stools and the tallest stool was given to the shortest man, the medium stool was given to the medium-sized man, and the shortest stool was given to the tallest man? This hypothetical situation presents one of the pressing questions of social justice: is social justice about equal treatment for everyone or helping those who need more help than others? John Rawls would say that the equal treatment would yield the most just outcomes. There is justice when everyone has equal opportunity and access to certain rights. Everyone has equal access to the same size stool; therefore, everyone is benefited. However, not all of the men can see over the wall. This

However, their approaches are different thus creating more conflict between theories. Rawls proposes that a veil of ignorance is the ideal way to make proper decisions. The veil of ignorance is, in essence, a group of people would walk into a room with no knowledge of who they were, what their gender or sexuality was, where and how they grew up, what their ethnicity was, or what their beliefs were. They would then be presented with a pressing social issue like what just solution will allow the three men to equally see over the wall. Theoretically, the veil of ignorance would be an effective way to eliminate all personal bias. Still, because humans are human, it is fundamentally impossible to eliminate all parochial interests, as Sen calls them. Sen references Adam Smith’s theory of an impartial spectator. Smith, an influential philosopher and economist, suggest that when decisions regarding social justice need to be made, they should be made by an objective outsider who would be unaffected by the decision. This outsider, the impartial spectator, would