Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is by Paul Adams FB2, TXT, DOC
9781594038273 English 1594038279 Paul Adams and Michael Novak see that "social justice" is neither an ideology nor a synonym for "progressive" programs and policies. Rather, it is social virtue, in two senses. First, it inheres in free persons who have learned the skills of association with others; second, they practice these skills to build up the common good - locally, nationally, globally. This analysis cuts deeper than libertarianism and most North American liberalism. Novak shows how "social justice" was originally invented as an alternative to unchecked state power, and considers such diverse figures as Rosmini, Taparelli d'Azeglio, Abraham Lincoln, Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, and other contributors to the argument such as Friedrich Hayek and Alexis de Tocqueville. Adams shows how widely "social justice" is now used in many branches of social work, and how its recent best practices require and build personal virtuesof responsibility, initiative, and cooperation with others., What is social justice? For Friedrich Hayek, it was a mirage--a meaningless, ideological, incoherent, vacuous cliché. He believed the term should be avoided, abandoned, and allowed to die a natural death. For its proponents, social justice is a catchall term that can be used to justify any progressive-sounding government program. It endures because it venerates its champions and brands its opponents as supporters of social injustice, and thus as enemies of humankind. As an ideological marker, social justice always works best when it is not too sharply defined. In Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is , Michael Novak and Paul Adams seek to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from its ideological captors. In examining figures ranging from Rosmini, Hayek and Abraham Lincoln, to Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis, the authors reveal that social justice is not a synonym for "progressive" government as we have come to believe. Rather, it is a virtue rooted in Catholic social teaching and developed as an alternative to the unchecked power of the state. For big government, they argue, is too out of touch with the millions of individual wills at play in society and too domineering for their own humane intentions. In this surprising reinterpretation, social justice represents an immensely powerful virtue for nurturing personal responsibility and building the human communities that can counter the widespread surrender to an ever-growing state., What is social justice? For Friedrich Hayek, it was a miragea meaningless, ideological, incoherent, vacuous cliche. He believed the term should be avoided, abandoned, and allowed to die a natural death. For its proponents, social justice is a catchall term that can be used to justify any progressive-sounding government program. It endures because it venerates its champions and brands its opponents as supporters of social injustice, and thus as enemies of humankind. As an ideological marker, social justice always works best when it is not too sharply defined. In "Social Justice Isn t What You Think It Is," Michael Novak and Paul Adams seek to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from its ideological captors. In examining figures ranging from Antonio Rosmini, Abraham Lincoln, and Hayek, to Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis, the authors reveal that social justice is not a synonym for progressive government as we have come to believe. Rather, it is a virtue rooted in Catholic social teaching and developed as an alternative to the unchecked power of the state. Almost all social workers see themselves as progressives, not conservatives. Yet many of their best practices aim to empower families and local communities. They stress not individual or state, but the vast social space between them. Left and right surprisingly meet. In this surprising reintroduction of its original intention, social justice represents an immensely powerful virtue for nurturing personal responsibility and building the human communities that can counter the widespread surrender to an ever-growing state."
9781594038273 English 1594038279 Paul Adams and Michael Novak see that "social justice" is neither an ideology nor a synonym for "progressive" programs and policies. Rather, it is social virtue, in two senses. First, it inheres in free persons who have learned the skills of association with others; second, they practice these skills to build up the common good - locally, nationally, globally. This analysis cuts deeper than libertarianism and most North American liberalism. Novak shows how "social justice" was originally invented as an alternative to unchecked state power, and considers such diverse figures as Rosmini, Taparelli d'Azeglio, Abraham Lincoln, Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, and other contributors to the argument such as Friedrich Hayek and Alexis de Tocqueville. Adams shows how widely "social justice" is now used in many branches of social work, and how its recent best practices require and build personal virtuesof responsibility, initiative, and cooperation with others., What is social justice? For Friedrich Hayek, it was a mirage--a meaningless, ideological, incoherent, vacuous cliché. He believed the term should be avoided, abandoned, and allowed to die a natural death. For its proponents, social justice is a catchall term that can be used to justify any progressive-sounding government program. It endures because it venerates its champions and brands its opponents as supporters of social injustice, and thus as enemies of humankind. As an ideological marker, social justice always works best when it is not too sharply defined. In Social Justice Isn't What You Think It Is , Michael Novak and Paul Adams seek to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from its ideological captors. In examining figures ranging from Rosmini, Hayek and Abraham Lincoln, to Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis, the authors reveal that social justice is not a synonym for "progressive" government as we have come to believe. Rather, it is a virtue rooted in Catholic social teaching and developed as an alternative to the unchecked power of the state. For big government, they argue, is too out of touch with the millions of individual wills at play in society and too domineering for their own humane intentions. In this surprising reinterpretation, social justice represents an immensely powerful virtue for nurturing personal responsibility and building the human communities that can counter the widespread surrender to an ever-growing state., What is social justice? For Friedrich Hayek, it was a miragea meaningless, ideological, incoherent, vacuous cliche. He believed the term should be avoided, abandoned, and allowed to die a natural death. For its proponents, social justice is a catchall term that can be used to justify any progressive-sounding government program. It endures because it venerates its champions and brands its opponents as supporters of social injustice, and thus as enemies of humankind. As an ideological marker, social justice always works best when it is not too sharply defined. In "Social Justice Isn t What You Think It Is," Michael Novak and Paul Adams seek to clarify the true meaning of social justice and to rescue it from its ideological captors. In examining figures ranging from Antonio Rosmini, Abraham Lincoln, and Hayek, to Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, and Francis, the authors reveal that social justice is not a synonym for progressive government as we have come to believe. Rather, it is a virtue rooted in Catholic social teaching and developed as an alternative to the unchecked power of the state. Almost all social workers see themselves as progressives, not conservatives. Yet many of their best practices aim to empower families and local communities. They stress not individual or state, but the vast social space between them. Left and right surprisingly meet. In this surprising reintroduction of its original intention, social justice represents an immensely powerful virtue for nurturing personal responsibility and building the human communities that can counter the widespread surrender to an ever-growing state."