Justice in old age: An analysis of corporatist social theory

Abstract

It is sometimes argued that a tacit contract exists between the generations in industrial society that requires that the present structure of Social Security benefits not be altered in any way that would serve to diminish the present benefit levels. The demands of social justice, it is thought, require that Western societies maintain their commitments to Social Security programs, especially to those programs of the type administered in the United States. This paper examines questions of justice pertaining to the aged in contemporary society. It is argued here that the demands of justice pertain not only to the satisfaction of basic needs for subsistence but also to the satisfaction of the need for self-realization. The commitment of capitalist nations like the U.S. to social justice for the aged is analyzed using a theory of justice that is based on Durkheim's political writings on corporatism and the “solidarist” theory of the Catholic social movement. The corporatist theory of justice would require that public pension systems like Social Security be revised to provide more adequately for the social needs of the working-class aged.