Social justice refers to the just and fair relations between individuals and society. To measure social justice, personal activity opportunities, social privileges, and wealth distribution are often considered. Social justice aims at making sure individuals fulfill their roles in society and receive their due according to their duties. This paper will discuss how a social justice perspective can be applicable to the assigned literature.
Feagin’s article greatly reflects the social injustices by the capitalist market system and focuses on ways in which the capitalist market system can be eliminated. To begin with, Feagin points out the capitalistic market in the United States and suggests how it can act as a determinant factor in making major economic and social decisions (Feagin, 2001). Feign argues that the capitalistic market has contributed to the vast inequality in wealth and income globally. In the U.S., the top one fifth of the entire households can barely raise half of the household income while the bottom one fifth have less than 5% of household income (Herring & Henderson, 2016). This is a form of social injustice considering the top 1% of the American households possesses more wealth compared to the entire bottom 95%. Globally, over 1.2 billion people survive daily on less than a one dollar budget. Social justice issues are influenced by the high levels of income and wealth inequality from specific individuals and it seems to increase every decade.
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Global capitalism only favors the well-off and corporate executives but the rest of the population who often work for the corporate executives experience marginalization, exploitation, and economic disruptions that often repeats itself (Feagin, 2001). This is a result of routine and vast development projects in their already established markets hence discarding and destroying the regions, cultures, and natural environments that was serving the population. The negative perspective of the global markets are seen when the workers and employees work for low wages under poor conditions or sometimes even lack employment (Herring & Henderson, 2016). Moreover, the workers sometimes lose their lands and are forced to migrate just to pave way for the massive development projects which often benefit individual groups.
It is also important to note that apart from underemployment and loss of land, capitalism often aggregates other forms of social injustices such as racism, gender inequality, and discrimination by social class. For instance, being black and poor in the U.S. in the 1990s was hard regarding the extent to which urban poverty was dominated by the black population (Herring & Henderson, 2016). The rich and well-off are more likely to engage in social injustice practices compared to the low class populations. This can be attributed to the fact that the capitalist system is based on the law of supply and demand and focuses on wealth creation and capital ownership. The dire need to create wealth and own capital is the main aspect of the capitalist market that leads to the oppression and unjust practices by the few and rich groups of individuals.
Apart from capitalism, social injustice is also influenced by political forces which may base their decisions and judgments in favor of a certain group of population. For instance, the U.S. government’s efforts to enable citizens acquire homes by underwriting mortgages played a role in the early decay of most neighborhoods in inner-cities (Keister & Moller, 2000). This unjust act was a result of the government restraining mortgage capital thus making it hard for those areas to attract and retain individuals and families able to buy their own homes (Herring & Henderson, 2016). Moreover, the government selectively managed the mortgage program by declaring a process that excluded families in several urban neighborhoods from accessing the homes basing on racial grounds (Feagin, 2001). This act by the government was clearly unjust since the subsequent policy decisions trapped blacks in unattractive inner cities whether they had money to upgrade or not. Social relations ranging from central systems to less central systems of discriminations determine whether most families and individuals are not included in decision making and allocation of important resources in society or not.
Wealth inequality is also another form of social inequality that needs to be addressed with attention. According to research, the concentration of wealth tends to follow stock market trends, which are mainly owned and controlled by the few rich (Stuber, 2006). When the value of the assets by the rich increases, they have more wealth and this widens the gap between them and the poor. Moreover, research indicates that wealth ownership and net income is also influenced by race (Herring & Henderson, 2016). For instance, in the 1980s, the blacks had a median income that was around 60% of the whites. This gap can be mainly attributed to educational difference which is the main issue explaining the racial wealth difference. Educational difference, in conjunction with redlining of government houses and limited minority occupational opportunities creates the vast wealth inequality (Keister & Moller, 2000). Additionally, wealth inequality is extreme in the U.S. to the point that most people hardly register any wealth at all compered to others who basically control the economy.
Social class is another form of social inequality that is widely attributed to the unequal access to political and economic resources (Stuber, 2006). Most members of the upper middle class and working class tend to construct moral boundaries against members of other class. Social class displays social injustices as individuals often construct class system boundaries regarding their current positions in the class system (Feagin, 2001). Stuber states that negative accounts and perceptions are given by members of superior classes to their inferior counterparts. For instance, middle class members characterize the working class as people who spend their days living uncultured lives and working in overpaid union jobs while members of working class, on the other hand, view the middle class to be living an easy life (Keister & Moller, 2000). It should be noted that class consciousness and class awareness play an important role in determining how people think about social class (Herring & Henderson, 2016). This influences the class structure since as much as some people think social class does not matter; others think that it matters most especially in day to day activities.
The study of sociology by social scientists mainly focuses in solving social injustices through evidence-based approaches and giving alternatives to the associated problems. Increased self-reflection by social scientists in colleges, universities, companies, and agencies should be considered since they live in a setting that is shaped by oppressive social relations from the larger society (Stuber, 2006). To help end the unjust social system, social scientists should also examine their research environments based on perspectives from critical and anti-racist scholars. It is vital for sociology to be widely taught in schools and institutions. This will help prepare the students for future technological, economic, social, and environmental challenges (Keister & Moller, 2000). Learning sociology will also enhance their skills in coming up with meaningful ways that can contribute in making society a better place for all. Studying the big social questions should be a common practice by sociologists since the questions are more likely to define the social justice system of the entire century (Herring & Henderson, 2016). Studying the big questions is important in formulating independent and more original ideas to critically address the national and global crises like the social injustice. For instance, sociologists can research on the impacts of global capitalism and possible alternatives that can be created to counter global capitalism.
To tackle social injustices, social justice requires fairness and equity in resource allocation and respect for the vast diversities. The current forms of oppression should be eradicated and resources redistributed from those who gained them in an unjust manner to those who rightfully deserve it (Feagin, 2001). Decision making, especially regarding policies and development projects, should be democratic and include all members of society regardless of their social status. Massive environmental crises are being experienced by individuals globally due to capitalism that has been long adopted by economic and political leaders (Keister & Moller, 2000). Sociological research should be given central attention regarding their policy, empirical, and theoretical dimensions towards solving social injustices. The counter-system approach should also be considered in an effort to restore social justice (Stuber, 2006). The system can be used in investigating social injustices and inequality in society and help in giving alternative approaches to social justice. The large framework of social relations should be restructured to achieve social justice.
Conclusion
Social justice refers to the just and fair relations between individuals and society and it may be influenced by several factors such as social class and wealth difference. Global capitalism also plays a role in enhancing social injustice acts since the majority poor population is often discriminated despite their honest and hard work. To fight the social injustice, sociologists can be used to identify, evaluate, and formulate alternative market systems that are stable and just.
References
Feagin, J.R. (2001). Social Justice and Sociology: Agendas for the Twenty-First Century: Presidential Address. American Sociological Review, Vol. 66, No 1 (Feb, 2001), pp. 1-20. Published by: American Sociological Association.
Herring, C & Henderson, L. (2016). Wealth Inequality in Black and White: Cultural and Structural Sources of the Racial Wealth Gap. Published online: 10 February 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Keister, A.L & Moller S. (2000). Wealth inequality in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology; 2000; 26, ProQuest pg. 63
Stuber, M.J. (2006). Talk of Class. The Discursive Repertoires of White Working- and Upper-Middle-Class College Students. 2006 Sage Publications. Vol. 35 no. 3
