Ethics

1
Justice and Fairness

Module 17 Justice and Fairness

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. To define justice and social justice
2. To understand Law and the State
3. To discern how societies dispense justice

What is Social Justice?

Plato in his writing “The Republic” dubbed social justice as Pantheism because he
compared justice or fairness as the universe in its entirety that is moved by an invisible source.
The universe has been here since time immemorial and no one can determine the age but why is it
that it never collided and still “in order”? He defined justice as universal, absolute and eternal. But
what is justice, Merriam and Webster defined it as, the maintenance or administration of what
is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited
rewards or punishments. So to correlate that with Plato’s “The Republic”, the components of
justice is harmony and unity. But that can never be attained if there is no State which is the very
purpose why the need for state, politics and law is a must in every society.
Social Justice only came in to being during the 19th Century in the Industrial Revolution to
be exact by European counties. The populace who were fed up by their monarchs demand justice
and fairness based on the premises of equality among men and to resolve capitalist exploitation.
This later expanded to issue such as rights of the poor, equal distribution of wealth, race, gender
and the likes. Aristotle, Plato’s most apt subordinate gave his own definition when he said, "equals
should be treated equally and unequals unequally” that means that individuals must be treated the
same but if necessity dictates there are exceptions. For example, John and Joanne are both
workers in the same factory and in the same position and are having the same compensation.
However, there are things may differ when it comes to age, sex, educational background or
religious belief.

State and Law

State is a community of persons more or less numerous permanently occupying a definite
territory having a government of their own to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual
obedience and enjoying freedom from external control. A State has the following elements namely:
1) People: Mass of population living within the state; 2) Territory: Land, maritime, aerial and
fluvial area over which jurisdiction exists; 3) Government: The agency through which the will of
the state is carried out; 4) Sovereignty: Supreme power of the state to enforce its will on the
people without foreign intervention and; 5) Recognition: the acceptance of a nation into the
Family of Nations.

Course Module
 A law is part and parcel of a state and is defined as any rule that if broken will mete
punishments to offenders. It is also defined as a body of rules made by the government interpreted
by the courts and backed by the power of the State. It is a legal order which refers to a specialized
phase of social control. Law is not only a means to a civilization but also a product of civilization
according to Roscoe Pound, the spokesman for the School of Social Jurisprudence. Law is
responsible for social engineering for it is a mechanism in reacting to changes in a society. laws
are susceptible to change and is not bound by traditions and legends and is created for the interest
of all members of society.
Government and Justice
1) Egalitarianism - Egalitarianism is a trend of thought in political philosophy. It favors
equality to everyone where people are treated the same as equals. Justice is given to
everyone regardless of race color or creed.
2) Communism - is simply based class dictatorship of the proletariat (the ruling party).
This type of governance was thought of by Karl Marx, where a society is dominated by
one class over the entire state. Socialism is the reciprocal of capitalism, where state
control of the economy is the nation’s priority.
3) Socialism - A political ideology that advocates for an equal redistribution of wealth and
power in society through a democratic ownership and distribution of society’s means of
production (or means of making money).

References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals
1. Babor, Eddie R.; Ethics – The Philosophical Discipline of Action; Manile, Rex Book
Store
2. Montemayor, Felix; Ethics the Philippines; Navotas Metro Manila; National Book Store

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. Social Justice; https://www.pachamama.org/social-justice/what-is-social-justice
2. Justice and Fairness; https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-
making/justice-and-fairness/; August 1, 2014
3. Definition of Justice; https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justice
4. Egalitarianism; https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/; April 24, 2013
5. Social Justice: Code for Communism; https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-communist-
government-1; August 4, 2016
6. What is Socialism Really? https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/what-is-socialism-
definition/

Written By:
Christopher S. Espiritu
AMA Caloocan Campus