Social justice

Social Justice is a concept that has fascinated philosophers ever since Plato rebuked the young Sophist, Thrasymachus, for asserting that justice was whatever the strongest decided it would be. In The Republic, Plato formalised the argument that an ideal state would rest on four virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.

Criticism

People who are critics of this notion may hold some or all of the following beliefs:

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• Social justice may serve as a cover for emotional appeals that exploit sympathies to bestow undue privilege on particular demographics or funnel public funds into particular enterprises (i.e. special interests.)
• State action to reduce poverty or poverty-related harms is thought to foster dependence on government, thereby undermining work ethic and individual initiative.
• Anything beyond minimal taxation tends to degrade the quality of life in a society insofar as it is an assault on liberty.
• Rather than regard taxation as an obligation incurred for participation in society (i.e. accumulating currency, utilizing insured banks, participating in regulated capital markets, etc.) some regard taxation as a punitive act that is innately unfair when used to fund social services and/or redistribute wealth.
• Over the long term, a society could grow soft and weak for having supported citizens less likely to reproduce in a more cutthroat economic environment.
• Providing a viable long term alternative to employment even for able-bodied adults is imagined to diminish productivity by increasing chronic unemployment.
• Social justice is said to be a cover for social engineering, which is considered an inappropriate course of action for the state.