WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE? NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS

When Pope Francis visited the United States in September, it may have been the first time that some Americans heard about the Jesuits, an order of Catholic priests renowned as educators and social justice advocates. Francis the first Jesuit ever elected to the papacy. For graduates of a Jesuit high school or college, the pope’s roots in social justice are familiar and endearing. Some Catholics, however, aren’t comfortable with his pronouncements on capitalism and markets, and associate the term “social justice” with progressivism or even Marxism.

A new book by renowned Catholic scholar Michael Novak and Paul Adams, emeritus professor of social work at the University of Hawaii, seeks to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from those who have co-opted the term. In “Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is,” Novak and Adams, with their collaborator Elizabeth Shaw, argue that social justice is not a synonym for “progressive” government, as so many have come to believe. The book masterfully examines several historical figures, including Antonio Rosmini, Abraham Lincoln, Fredrich Hayek, and Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis to give readers a deeper understanding of “social justice” as a powerful platform for empowering communities and associations, while encouraging personal responsibility.

According to Adams, the lack of a clear definition of “social justice” has allowed frequent use of the term in politics. “Social justice is a term that can be used as an all-purpose justification for any progressive sounding government program or newly discovered or invented right,” he writes. “The term survives because it benefits its champions. It brands opponents as supporters of social injustice, and so as enemies of humankind, without the trouble of making an argument or considering their views. As an ideological marker, ‘social justice’ works best when it is not too sharply defined.”

Novak artfully deals with the definitions and context of social justice by examining its brief history. He redefines social justice by emphasizing it as virtue whose specific character is the skill in forming associations and a goal of benefitting the human community, whether it is on a local, national or international level. By forming associations, communities don’t require government services and can discover ways of sustaining themselves freely and independently. In reality, Novak argues, practicing the virtue of true social justice helps fight the temptation of surrendering to big government, which is often too inefficient and impersonal to be truly humane.

Adds Adams: “Once we understand social justice as a virtue involving people working together to improve things rather than as about claims on the state, we begin to see everything differently.”

In a recent talk, Novak mentioned Bob Woodson, founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and featured in Opportunity Lives Comeback Series, as an example of the power of associations “organizing others and taking control of your own lives.” Woodson’s experience with Kenilworth-Parkside public housing project in Washington, D.C., showed how residents could form the necessary associations to greatly improve their living circumstances.

In the early 1970s into the 1980s, the Kenilworth-Parkside was the subject of several television specials and news reports. The projects were notorious for open-air drug markets and gang activity. The residents took back control of the projects, drove out drug dealers and made it a safe place to live. “We took men from gangs and made them into fathers, restored self-respect, and promoted a mutual accountability,” Woodson tells Opportunity Lives. “When you give people the opportunity to elevate themselves and the means, they will far exceed the expectations of many experts.”

Novak and Adams argue that Woodson’s work exemplifies “people tapping into their own resources of wisdom, knowledge, resourcefulness, and initiative.”

In the book, Novak defines six secular uses of social justice: distribution, equality, common good, the progressive agenda, the new civil rights (gender, sex, and reproduction), and compassion. Novak and Adams also devote a substantial part of the book to the social justice contributions of five popes: Leo XIII, Pius XI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

An examination of the writings of John Paul II and Francis offer insights into each man’s view of capitalism. John Paul II lived his entire adult life under the shadow of National Socialism and Communism. He favored democracy, but understood the limits of capitalism. “The constant transformation of the methods of production and consumption devalues certain acquired skills and professional expertise,” the pope wrote, “and thus requires a continual effort of retraining and updating.” Of particular concern to John Paul II were the elderly, the young who cannot find jobs, and in general those who are the weakest.

Similarly, Francis hails from South America, the second poorest continent on earth. His native country of Argentina offers very little upward mobility for the country’s poor. Those that are critical of Pope Francis and his comments regarding capitalism might want to examine the frame of reference from which he speaks. Novak writes that Francis is on target when he rightly concludes, “There are good versions of capitalism and bad ones. One test of the difference is how well and how rapidly the good system raises its poor out of poverty.”

Adams’ perspective is an integral part of the book as a social-work educator, helping students prepare for a profession that defined social justice as a core value. He tells Opportunity Lives, “A key task of social work is to practice the virtue of social justice — to embody and model the art and skill of working with others to improve social situations that individuals cannot do on their own — and at the same time foster and nurture it in individuals, families, and communities.”

Adams also offers insight into how social workers can do good in cases of child abuse and mistreatment without using a the heavy hand. At their best, social workers bring together the wisdom, knowledge, and resources of extended family members who love an abused and neglected child, as well as the expertise of therapists and teachers. This is very different from the state taking over the family’s responsibility (which is sometimes necessary) and imposing a solution on the family from outside. “Instead is it about sharing that responsibility with the family and community, and strengthening their capacity to take care of their own,” says Adams.

Readers of “Social Justice Isn’t What You Think It Is” will enjoy the authors’ fresh perspectives rooted in Catholic intellectual thought and history, with the appropriate amount of compassion.

Cherylyn LeBon is a contributor for Opportunity Lives. You can follow her on Twitter @HarleyLeBon.

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Source: Cherylyn LeBon, opportunitylives.com