Types of Justice in Contractual Relationships

Abstract

To analyze the manifestations of social injustice in various situations in society, it is necessary first of all to study how it arises in interpersonal interaction. In the studies of foreign authors on this issue, the logic inherent to the theory of social exchange by G. Homans appears implicitly or explicitly. The article describes which theories Homans based on when creating his concept, how the individual’s actions are influenced by the “rewards” and “costs” received by him, and why Homans wasnot afraid to defend the methodological principle of psychological reductionism. This paper discusses the propositions of this theory and their applicability in assessing the phenomenon of social justice, whether it is a distributional, procedural or interactional orientation. Distributive justice examines how the parties to social exchange assess the fairness of the “rewards” received; to the sphere of procedural studies – the “honesty” of the procedures and processes by which the distribution of “rewards” is made; the area of interest of the interactionist direction is the actor himself, who participates in the process of social exchange. The article also examines the specifics of such types of social exchange as contractual and mutual. A contractual type of social exchange is a relationship in which agreements and conditions are jointly established, thanks to which it becomes possible to receive “rewards”. In contrast to contractual social exchange, mutual exchange is not supported by any legal restrictions. The article describes why the hypothesis that the contractual type of social exchange will be viewed by the participants as more equitable has not been confirmed. In addition, this paper analyzes the suitability of using contractual and mutual social exchange in the context of G. Homans theory of social exchange, and the relevance of their consideration within the framework of the concept of “rewards” and “costs”.