Principles of Social Justice - Essay Example

The social justice concept started during the early 19th century Industrial Revolution and the period marking civil revolutions in Europe that sought to establish egalitarian societies and eliminate capitalistic exploitation of workers. The term has expanded to include other aspects of life such as forms of inequality, race, and the environment. Social justice as a concept represents fairness in society. This includes fairness in sectors like healthcare. Social justice depends on various principles that are essential to its objectives: equity, participation, priority, peace, human dignity, and solidarity. The principles of social justice are vital in guiding the course of social justice. This essay focusses on the principle of priority and its application in the current health crisis. An in-depth discussion involving the principle of preference and the nuances involved will help create an understanding, and identify the social issues involved such as treatment of the vulnerable communities in the wake of the current health crisis.

Priority Principle

The author attributed to this principle is John Rawls, a political philosopher during the 20th century. He came up with principles that advocate for a just society. Armed with a broad knowledge of economics and philosophy, John managed to develop a set of principles that set the foundation for social justice principles. This principle is concerned with addressing the plight of the vulnerable members of society. The basic moral test of any community is in the way it treats the vulnerable members in society. A society that is marked by deep divisions between the rich and the poor must consider the needs of the people at risk before others. Undoubtedly, a society must prioritize the needs of those found at risk. John Rawls' "A Theory of Justice" offers an underlying principle approach that helps alleviate the inequities by targeting most disadvantaged people (Arnold, 2012). Since there is no clear definition of social justice principles, Rawls' contribution can be attributed to the principle of priority. The author's two justice principles form the foundation for this discussion. The first one is that each individual possesses an equal right to liberties, while the second one states that the social and economic inequalities must satisfy two conditions. First, they should get attached to institutions that are open to conditions of fair equality. Secondly, they must work to the greatest benefit of those considered the least disadvantaged in society. These two principles comprise an attachment of priority rules. In particular, the most vital one is that liberty has a priority over every other advantage for the sake of liberty. The principle of preference for the poor and vulnerable, therefore, works to advocate for social justice that considers the plight of the vulnerable.

The principle of priority addresses various issues impacting people's living conditions that contribute to the fulfillment of their basic needs. It also entails promotion institutions, cultural values, socio-political, and economic institutions that promote social justice. the principle guides social workers in seeking changes and acting on behalf of the vulnerable and the oppressed groups (Kam, 2014). Therefore, this principle addresses self-respect, wealth, income, opportunities, liberties, and rights. Rawls' social justice theory is based on the need to achieve a just distribution of goods. Social goods are what the author assumes that every individual requires. These needs are the primary forms of justice that form society's structures. Also, major social institutions are mandated to distribute the rights and organize themselves in ways that ensure there is a division of advantages arising from social cooperation. In this case, the major institutions represent the political, economic, and social arrangements. Social workers address discrimination, unemployment, poverty, and other social injustices in pursuing social changes.

The principle seeks to ensure that resources also reach the vulnerable members of society. Notably, services will not get prioritized centrally, instead, this process will involve choosing the most effective for the disadvantaged according to their needs and capabilities. An area that is agreeable concerning inequity is that it hails from subsequent deprivations that contribute to the development of several multi-dimensional poverty. This view calls for people in society to commit towards viewing each other as equal and free. Therefore, the principle of priority requires resources such as the expansion of choice and opportunity, and the promotion of social justice (Arnold, 2012). Such resources will aid in intervention measures that prioritize vulnerable members in society. Moreover, a more significant priority focusses on society's most disadvantaged in meeting their distinct needs.

The principle of priority offers means that it can help distribute the resources required for the disadvantaged. For instance, to ensure social justice, social policies have a role to play. Social policy is a powerful tool that can diffuse social justice's attributes and foster the equitable distribution of both materialistic and non-materialistic goods (Liebig & Sauer, 2016). Social policy has implications on people’s wellbeing due to its funding priorities, regulations, and the means of accessing and distributing social benefits. Public action must seek to expand choices, as well as opportunities for people. Apart from that, public policy based on this principle emphasizes how measures like inclusion, rights, equity issues, protection, and social production are aligned with prioritization efforts to target the vulnerable. Social policies must strive to address the goals of improving people’s living standards, developing people’s capacities, equitable access to opportunities and resources, and focus on human rights. Social policies can fail to achieve social justice because of several issues linked together such as the contrasting differences between social and economic policies.

Another related way to social policymaking that applies in this principle in its distribution of resources involves the social protection mechanisms. The mechanisms are short, long, or medium measures that aim towards cushioning vulnerable people in periods of crisis, stabilizing macroeconomic conditions, and offering opportunities to be free from social exclusion and poverty. There are several intervention measures under this principle that can impact the distribution of resources (Arnold, 2012). Such interventions promise access to opportunities. Firstly, social insurance schemes seek to protect against risks associated with vulnerable positions like old age, disability, and unemployment. Secondly, the social assistance services targeting the vulnerable groups can have cash transfers. Thirdly, the intervention measure involving subsidies such as food aligns with the social justice principle of prioritization.

Despite the insights that the principle of priority avails in informing social justice, there are several criticisms labeled against it. One of the criticisms labeled against this principle is on the way it seeks to provide the greatest benefit to the least advantaged. Some conservative commentators argue that the principle is unfair since it takes away from the advantaged people in society the things that they earned and then redistributed for the benefit of those that are vulnerable (Lister, 2013). Also, the criticism against this principle is that the reasons that explain how people came to be in positions of advantage whether less or more, are relevant to fairness. An instance is in the case where some individuals deserve more material goods due to their contribution or hard work to society. Another criticism is that this principle is highly idealized because it works on the precept that a just society must act this way. Thus, most objections are based on the prioritization aspect that focusses on a complete intervention that leans on the less disadvantaged and tends to unfairly target the advantaged.

One of the first advantages of prioritization is that it helps create incentives that benefit the less advantaged. The existence of some inequalities in society promotes the creation of incentives that encourages individuals to attain high positions. The second benefit is that the principle makes the less advantaged to share the near maximization of goods and be part of the general society, thereby reducing inequalities. However, the principle of priority draws several setbacks. First, the aspect of the less advantaged enjoying maximization of goods at the behest of the more advantaged creates a situation where the less advantaged can demand more benefits. Secondly, it establishes the free-rider problem, where the individuals who work less gain from other people's hard work (Freeman, 2013). Thirdly, it develops the possibility that the less advantaged gets motivated by envy, a notion that does not justify benefitting from other people’s hard work.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by coronavirus strains that adversely impact human health. This new disease is now referred to as the "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2) that was initially discovered after an outbreak of respiratory illness that was widespread in Wuhan, China. The novel virus affects people differently. Mostly, the infected people develop a moderate or mild illness and can recover without seeking hospital attention. The most common symptoms include dry cough and fever, while the less common ones include diarrhea, sore throat, headaches, loss of taste, and pains. COVID-19 significantly impacts health services. It is currently causing enormous strains on health services. since it is more widespread than other infectious diseases like Ebola, its impact on health systems causes much greater disruptions. Additionally, the pandemic has affected health services for noncommunicable diseases.

The pandemic has caused severe economic disruption at unprecedented levels. Approximately 30 million Americans already filed for unemployment during the last seven weeks (Chen et al., 2020). Moreover, it only took a year to reach that figure, especially during the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy charges. The high unemployment insurance claims filed all point towards the effects of the pandemic. Several people have lost their jobs, and small businesses have been severely affected. As the number of cases grows in the US, the number of claims also rises. The primary sectors such as agriculture have also felt the pandemic effect as prices of commodities dropped by about 20% (Nicola et al., 2020).

The pandemic raised the spotlight on groups that have been adversely impacted. It has so far impacted the minority groups more than other population groups. COVID 19 has not had an equal impact on every American. The current crisis is disproportionately killing the African-Americans. Several states that reported deaths have attributed the higher figures to African-Americans. For instance, African-Americans reported almost a third of the COVID fatalities in Kansas. The group accounted for 41% of the death cases in Michigan (Yancy 2020). Therefore, it is apparent that African-Americans represent the most vulnerable population group.

The challenges caused by pandemic has significantly affected populations in the world. The epidemic has already changed the way people communicate due to travel bans and restrictions. Travel bans have restricted movements across the globe as trade and businesses have also been affected. Other sectors like the oil sector witnessed a price crash since the demand for oil eased due to the lockdowns. The global economy is also shrinking and it faces the risk of recession if the pandemic is still widespread. The decline in the global economy is the worst in the 1930s Great Depression. Also, countries face acute public health crisis because of the ongoing pandemic. Thus, the pandemic has adversely affected various economic sectors of the world economy and caused strains on health services.

Various countries face concerns when it comes to issues regarding the reopening of the economy. The first concern associated with reopening the economy is that struggling business owners may have to contend with the rules to maintain safety and health. Business owners have to make decisions that involve the means of bringing back employees without exposing them to health risks. Moreover, this process entails creating different ways of customer interaction, redesigning workplaces, and so forth. These services come at extra costs, especially at a period where most businesses are struggling. Throwing the economy-wide open may increase infection cases and risk overrunning the health institutions with the surge of cases. Despite the economic impacts of the current crisis, opening up the economy exposes people to further implications.

COVID-19 is a social justice issue. Some minority communities that were historically marginalized by economic inequalities have left them exposed and vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. For instance, the pandemic is also a social justice issue that highlighted previous cases of inequalities. The historical systemic racism contributed to poor health outcomes for the marginalized communities. Lack of access to healthcare influences one’s life expectancy, making such populations to become vulnerable during an occurrence of a crisis. The poor are most affected because of the high costs of medical care. The lack of resources that can help protect and prevent the pandemic exposes the poor at increased risk of contracting the virus.

Priority Principle and COVID-19

The social justice principle of priority for the vulnerable focusses on needs for the least advantaged in society. Priority population groups comprise individuals who face the highest prevalence of a condition. In such instances, government agencies must ponder whether targeting a community will improve the group members’ overall health. Economic inequality in the US is associated with the racial divide based on income. Latinos and the Blacks experience high poverty rates, which expose them to the virus and end up spreading. The principle will ensure that resources such as testing kits, promoting high health standards, and availing adequate nutrition are availed to the marginalized communities. Under the principle, heath services will target the vulnerable populations and provide them with resources to tackle the pandemic, such as personal protective equipment. Another application of the principle is in the case of burial or cremation services. The government can arrange these essential services to less advantaged. The government proposed to send checks to workers in the US. However, individuals earning more than 1$ million annually. Direct payments protected the less vulnerable members from the loss of jobs and reduced working hours due to the health crisis's impact. Many people received the funds.

In conclusion, the social justice principle of priority advocates for prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable in societies that comprise a deep divide between the poor and the rich. Articles were crucial in offering insights that increased the understanding of the principle, its application to real-world scenarios, including their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the current global health crisis caused by the novel virus raised some concerns that highlighted social justice issues. The marginalized communities can get targeted by applying the social justice principle of priority to motivate the intervention measures. The focus on vulnerable populations by initiating resources such as testing kits, treatment options, and providing access to funds will help eliminate the social justice issues facing the US.