Contributive justice: social class and graduate employment in the UK

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article applies Paul Gomberg’s theory of contributive justice to the problematic of working-class graduates’ access to skilled and meaningful work in the UK. I begin by outlining Gomberg’s argument for the importance of quality work as a key social good. I then draw upon a range of sociologically-informed literature to offer a two-fold argument. Firstly, I contend that the UK suffers from a structural misalignment between graduate demand for high-skilled employment and the supply the labour market can provide; secondly, that working-class graduates are disproportionately likely to encounter problems in gaining quality work, at least in their early-stage careers. To understand these issues as questions of social justice, I apply Gomberg’s thesis throughout the discussion. I conclude by reflecting upon the value of Gomberg’s theory to studies such as this, which take a sociologically-informed approach to the interface between education and work. I argue that Gomberg’s neo-Aristotelian theory, wherein work is central to human flourishing, offers a framework through which we may make explicit our normally implicit evaluations and critiques.