Dimensions of Justice

Dimensions of Justice

Family

The first three refer to relationships among human beings while the last is between humans and the rest of creation

Justice has four dimensions :

1) Individual

2) Social

3) Distributive

4)Ecological

the place where a person's survival/thrival needs are met (food, shelter, clothing)

parents owe their children a secure and loving environment where children can grow

in return, children owe their parents respect and cooperation

families are not perfect and hence, injustices occur inside the home (abuse, neglect)

Individual Justice

Obligations between individuals, one to one relationships

Focuses on the obligation that one person has to another because of a relationship they have

-Customer buys a Ben and Jerry's ice cream in a cone

-His ice cream ends up falling on the street

-He comes back and tells the store owner it is because he didn't push the ice cream deep enough into the cone

-Customers in the store urge the store owner to replace his ice cream when they see the store owner is uneasy about it

-The store owner gives him a new cone and claims it is from Ben and Jerry

Following through with obligations and treating people respectfully has a lot to do with being fair

A Childhood Lost

I am the eldest one of three

I have two brothers younger than me

When we were growing up our lives were sad

Living at home with our mum and dad

We had no money and very little food

He spent it on drink and came home in a mood

The teachers at my school said how well I did

They must have known the secrets I hid

How may pairs of glasses can one woman break?

The bruises, the marks, the lives at stake

That's why we slept out on the streets at night

For me it was safer, so we used to take flight

Away from the man supposed to protect

Out into the darkness, did anyone suspect?

For if we stayed I knew what it would mean

A beating for mum would be heard or seen

I envied my friends, they had happy lives

With dads who actually loved their wives

I am now older with kids of my own

My dad's 56 and now lives alone

He lost his kids, his home and his wife

He's dying of cancer, now he's losing his life

He's no longer scary, he's no longer bad

He's a Grandad who's dying, but he's still my dad.

Social Justice

Concerned with what belongs to all people in common (community and society as a whole)

Obligations that individuals and subgroups within society have toward their community or the society as a whole

When people actively do harm they are guilty of social injustice

Social justice does not mean satisfying the needs of the majority

Why bother going to school?

-our education helps us thrive and become "producers" in society

-it exposes us to language, math, thinking skills needed to participate in life

-poorly educated people struggle providing themselves with basic necessities (food, clothing, shelter)

https://newsela.com/articles/cocoa-labor/id/349/

What do you think?

We are called to be stewards of God's creation

Ecological Justice

-From the creation story, humans are given authority and power over all of creation

- God has entrusted us as stewards of his creation as we work, care and rule over it

-creation is not only about meeting our own individual needs

-we have the obligation to take care of creation as well

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-understand-power-eric-liu

20 Best Educational Systems

-the obligations that human beings have to all the rest of creation

Is vandalism of public property a social injustice?

Why do people vandalize public or private property?

We are members of Christ's Body

You are not powerless !

When we think of government/corporations, we often think of power

-for us, this means we don't have to do it all

- "I will do what I can" attitude

-" I am part of something greater "

-We are all pieces to a puzzle

-we all bring something to the table

1) South Korea

2) Japan

3) Singapore

4) Hong Kong

5)Finland

6) UK

7) Canada

8)Netherlands

9) Ireland

10) Poland

11) Denmark

12) Germany

13) Russia

14) United States

15) Australia

16) New Zealand

17) Israel

18) Belgium

19) Czech Republic

20) Switzerland

-we can't rid the world of all the injustices

-we can do something

-write a letter to a government representative, participate in a run-for-hunger event, refusing to buy a boycotted product

For Christians, social justice is a way of life

It includes responding with a sensitivity to the well-being of all and not just oneself

At the Individual Level

Distributive Justice

-individuals can impact distributive justice

-we can make society's systems fair through our work

-for ex. providing safe well-made products at reasonable prices, following health and safety regulations

-standing up for what is wrong at work

-we can make a change through the political process (working for an issue/ candidate, becoming informed about issues and candidates)

-voting for parties who are there to support the common good

-In the same way individuals have a duty to society, society also has the obligation to look out for the good of its members

Distributive Justice : the obligations that society has towards all its members and the role of governments, corporations, communities and individuals in the just distribution of society's resources

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man

Are we responsible for injustices?

- injustices are caused by omission

-when we see injustice but decide to look the other way

-when good people do nothing, injustices happen more often

-It is making sure that everyone's needs are met and respected

-when one person's rights are disregarded, everyone's rights are endangered

-sometimes it involves making sacrifices on the part of the majority so the rights of everyone are honoured

-what every society aims for in order to be just

-contributing to the common good fosters the well-being of all individuals

-We need communities

-Our communities have needs that need to be met in order to provide us with a healthy environment so we can all thrive