"Social justice is justice in relation to a fair balance in the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals's rights are recognized and protected."
How practicing kindness can contribute to promoting equity and social justice in our communities and societies.
Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person is a crucial aspect of kindness and social justice.
Diversity: Appreciating and valuing the differences in race, ethnicity, religion, culture, and other individual characteristics is necessary for promoting equality and justice.
Inclusion: Inclusion is about creating spaces and communities where everyone feels welcome, regardless of their differences.
Equality: Equal opportunity, equal access to resources, and equal treatment of all individuals are necessary for social justice.
Privilege: Acknowledging privilege and using it to contribute towards making the world a more just and equitable place.
Discrimination: Discrimination refers to treating people unfairly on the basis of their race, gender, religion, sexuality, or other characteristics.
Stereotyping: Stereotyping involves forming a generalised impression of a group of people based on limited information, rather than getting to know individuals as they are.
Human Rights: Basic human rights such as the right to education, food, shelter, and healthcare are fundamental to ensure social justice.
Empowerment: Supporting individuals and communities to have power and control over their lives and circumstances is key to creating a more just and equal society.
Advocacy: Advocating for social justice involves speaking out against social injustices and promoting policy reforms and changes to address inequality.
Intersectionality: The recognition that people face multiple forms of oppression and discrimination, and that these forms are interconnected.
Systemic Oppression: The way in which societal institutions and practices create and maintain inequality and injustice.
Social Change: Actions and processes undertaken to create a more just and equitable society through collective and individual efforts.
Civic Engagement: Active participation in the public affairs of one's community to bring about social progress.
Restorative Justice: An approach that seeks to repair harm caused by conflict and inequality, rather than just punishing the offender.
Forgiveness: An act of kindness that facilitates healing and wellness, not just for oneself, but also for others who were wronged.
Growth Mindset: A mindset that fosters resilience and continuous improvement for growth towards personal and social goals.
Compassion: Showing concern and a willingness to help others, even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable.
Active Listening: A way of hearing and understanding others, rather than just waiting one's turn to speak.
Community Building: Collaborative efforts to create and sustain communities that foster kindness, social justice, respect, and inclusion.
Random Acts of Kindness: These are spontaneous and often anonymous gestures of goodwill that we do for others without expecting anything in return.
Pay It Forward: This is a concept where you do something kind for someone, and in return, they do something kind for another person, forming a chain reaction of kindness.
Resource Redistribution: This encompasses policies meant to redistribute resources such as wealth, power, and opportunities to ensure everyone has equal access to them.
Restorative Justice: This type of justice focuses on repairing harm caused by crime and addressing the underlying issues that contribute to criminal behavior.
Political Activism: Political activism involves taking a stand against social injustices through peaceful protests, influencing governments, and raising awareness in society.
Philanthropic Acts: This involves giving resources such as money or time to those in need or to organizations that help those in need.
Environmental Activism: Environmental activism is a form of social justice that aims to prevent environmental harm, conserve natural resources, and protect the planet.
Animal Welfare: Animal welfare is a social justice issue that seeks to improve the treatment of animals in society, including their living conditions, treatment, and protection.
Community Service: Community service involves volunteering time and resources to help others in the community, such as organizing food drives, tutoring or mentoring programs, and cleaning up local parks.
Non-Violent Communication: This is a form of communication that focuses on expressing oneself without causing harm to others, and instead, promotes mutual understanding and empathy.
Diversity and Inclusion: This type of social justice aims to promote equal opportunities and respect for people of different backgrounds, genders, races, and cultures.
Self-care: Self-care involves taking care of oneself physically, emotionally, and mentally to ensure one has the energy and resources to help others.
"The concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fulfill their societal roles and receive their due from society."
"The emphasis has been on the breaking of barriers for social mobility, the creation of safety nets, and economic justice."
"Social justice assigns rights and duties in the institutions of society, which enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation."
"The relevant institutions often include taxation, social insurance, public health, public school, public services, labor law and regulation of markets, to ensure distribution of wealth, and equal opportunity."
"Interpretations that relate justice to a reciprocal relationship to society are mediated by differences in cultural traditions, some of which emphasize the individual responsibility toward society and others the equilibrium between access to power and its responsible use."
"Reinterpreting historical figures such as Bartolomé de las Casas."
"Gender, ethnic, and social equality, advocating justice for migrants, prisoners, the environment, and the physically and developmentally disabled."
"Classical and Christian philosophical sources, from Plato and Aristotle to Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas."
"The term social justice finds its earliest uses in the late 18th century, albeit with unclear theoretical or practical meanings."
"The term was popularized generically through the writings of Antonio Rosmini-Serbati."
"Progressive Era American legal scholars, particularly Louis Brandeis and Roscoe Pound."
"From the early 20th century it was also embedded in international law and institutions."
"John Rawls in A Theory of Justice (1971)."
"The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action treats social justice as a purpose of human rights education."
"The use of the term was early on subject to accusations of redundancy and of rhetorical flourish."
"Luigi Taparelli coined and defined the term in a natural law social scientific treatise, establishing the natural law principle."
"Social justice is invoked today in efforts for gender, ethnic, and social equality, advocating justice for migrants, prisoners, the environment, and the physically and developmentally disabled."
"Social justice was made central to the philosophy of the social contract."
"Universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice."