Social Justice is a broad societal concept which maintains that justice is achieved in every aspect of society, through the rule of law rather than merely the administration of laws. It is an ideal of the world which affords individuals and groups fair treatment and an impartial share of the benefits the society in which they operate has to offer. Social justice is sometimes used to describe the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society, but we use the term here specifically as it relates to the rule of law and the protections it affords all societies globally.

Social justice embodies a philosophical issues important and appropriately considered in government, politics, religion and civil society. The most important application of the rule of law as it applies to social justice is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with due process. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance, whether by a totalitarian leader or by mob rule. Thus, the rule of law is hostile both to dictatorship and to anarchy and by definition those things will fail to exist in a socially just society.

Individually, we all wish to live in a just society, but generally our conceptions of what a just society encompasses differ. Social Justice generally refers to issues effecting entire societies, such as crime, police repression, social control, the penal system, globalization, human and civil rights, border, citizenship, and immigration issues, environmental victims and health and safety concerns, social policies affecting welfare and education, ethnic and gender relations, and persistent global inequalities.

Other Topics of Interest:

• Restorative Justice
• Therapeutic Jurisprudence
• Juvenile Justice
• Criminal and Prison Reform
• Death Penalty Debate