Responsibility and Justice

Abstract

It may be useful to indicate in summary form the main themes of this chapter. I begin by noting that although the closeness of the relationship between social justice and economic justice is not likely to be questioned, there is less agreement on what exactly the relationship is. There are important differences between any one of the three following views and the other two: (a) that the achievement of economic justice is simply one means among several to the achievement of social justice; (b) that the achievement of economic justice is overwhelmingly the most important condition of the achievement of social justice; (c) that the achievement of economic justice actually is the achievement of social justice — that is, that social justice has no content over and above economic justice. I mention these here simply as examples of views that might be held; I do not discuss them in what follows. At any rate, it is obvious that the association of social justice with economic justice is one that no theoretical discussion of social justice can ignore.