The Routledge International Handbook of Social Justice

"In a world where genocide, hunger, poverty, war, and disease persist and where richer nations often fail to act to address these problems or act too late, a prerequisite to achieving even modest social justice goals is to clarify the meaning of competing discourses on the concept. Throughout history, calls for social justice have been used to rationalize the status quo, promote modest reforms, and justify revolutionary, even violent action. Ironically, as the prominence of the concept has risen, the meaning of social justice has become increasingly obscured. This authoritative volume explores different perspectives on social justice and what its attainment would involve. It addresses key issues, such as resolving fundamental questions about human nature and social relationships; the distribution of resources, power, status, rights, access, and opportunities; and the means by which decisions regarding this distribution are made. Illustrating the complexity of the topic, it presents a range of international, historical, and theoretical perspectives, and discusses the dilemmas inherent in implementing social justice concepts in policy and practice. Covering more than abstract definitions of social justice, it also includes multiple examples of how social justice might be achieved at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. With contributions from leading scholars around the globe, Reisch has put together a magisterial and multi-faceted overview of social justice. It is an essential reference work for all scholars with an interest in social justice from a wide range of disciplines, including social work, public policy, public health, law, criminology, sociology, and education." -- Résumé de l'éditeur Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of illustrations 12 Contributors 14 Acknowledgments 24 Introduction 28 PART I Historical and cultural concepts of social justice 34 Introduction to Part I 36 1 The emergence of social justice in the West 41 2 Religious influences on justice theory 54 3 The Gandhian concept of social justice 66 4 Social justice in an era of globalization: must and can it be the focus of social welfare policies? Japan as a case study 75 5 Social justice in the Middle East 88 6 Decolonizing livelihoods, decolonizing the will: solidarity economy as a social justice paradigm in Latin America 101 7 Social justice, transitional justice, and political transformation in South Africa 118 8 Indigenous struggles for justice: restoring balance within the context of Anglo settler societies 138 PART II Theories and conceptual frameworks 150 Introduction to Part II 152 9 Social justice and liberalism 159 10 Conservatism and social justice 174 11 Social justice and critical theory 187 12 Social justice feminism 200 13 Postmodern perspectives on social justice 215 14 The capability approach and social justice 229 15 Human rights as pillars of social justice 243 PART III Social justice issues in policy and practice 254 Introduction to Part III 256 16 Social justice and income support policies 264 17 Social justice and education 276 18 Social justice and criminal justice 296 19 Social justice for children and youth 313 20 Housing, homelessness and social justice: no fate but what we make 327 21 Environmental justice 346 22 Health inequality and social justice 366 23 Psychological justice: distributive justice and psychiatric treatment of the non-disordered 380 24 Violence and safety: a social justice perspective 412 25 Social care and social justice 425 26 A looming dystopia: feminism, social justice, and community-based long-term care 436 27 The last frontier?: indigenous Australians and social justice 451 28 Why poverty and inequality undermine justice in America 463 PART IV Cultural reflections on social justice 476 Introduction to Part IV 478 29 Justice, culture and human rights 482 30 The use of the arts in promoting social justice 490 31 By its absence: literature and the attainment of social justice consciousness 507 32 Music and social justice 519 33 Social justice and cinema 529 Index 540 "In a world where genocide, hunger, poverty, war, and disease persist and where richer nations often fail to act to address these problems or act too late, a prerequisite to achieving even modest social justice goals is to clarify the meaning of competing discourses on the concept. Throughout history, calls for social justice have been used to rationalize the status quo, promote modest reforms, and justify revolutionary, even violent action. Ironically, as the prominence of the concept has risen, the meaning of social justice has become increasingly obscured. This authoritative volume explores different perspectives on social justice and what its attainment would involve. It addresses key issues, such as resolving fundamental questions about human nature and social relationships; the distribution of resources, power, status, rights, access, and opportunities; and the means by which decisions regarding this distribution are made. Illustrating the complexity of the topic, it presents a range of international, historical, and theoretical perspectives, and discusses the dilemmas inherent in implementing social justice concepts in policy and practice. Covering more than abstract definitions of social justice, it also includes multiple examples of how social justice might be achieved at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. With contributions from leading scholars around the globe, Reisch has put together a magisterial and multi-faceted overview of social justice. It is an essential reference work for all scholars with an interest in social justice from a wide range of disciplines, including social work, public policy, public health, law, criminology, sociology, and education." -- Résumé de l'éditeur In a world where genocide, hunger, poverty, war, and disease persist and where richer nations often fail to act to address these problems or act too late, a prerequisite to achieving even modest social justice goals is to clarify the meaning of competing discourses on the concept. Throughout history, calls for social justice have been used to rationalize the status quo, promote modest reforms, and justify revolutionary, even violent action. Ironically, as the prominence of the concept has risen, the meaning of social justice has become increasingly obscured. This authoritative volume explores different perspectives on social justice and what its attainment would involve. It addresses key issues, such as resolving fundamental questions about human nature and social relationships; the distribution of resources, power, status, rights, access, and opportunities; and the means by which decisions regarding this distribution are made. Illustrating the complexity of the topic, it presents a range of international, historical, and theoretical perspectives, and discusses the dilemmas inherent in implementing social justice concepts in policy and practice. Covering more than abstract definitions of social justice, it also includes multiple examples of how social justice might be achieved at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. With contributions from leading scholars around the globe, Reisch has put together a magisterial and multi-faceted overview of social justice. It is an essential reference work for all scholars with an interest in social justice from a wide range of disciplines, including social work, public policy, public health, law, criminology, sociology, and education. -- Provided by publisher