The NASW Code of Ethics recognizes social justice as one of the core values we are expected to uphold. The challenge with this is that social justice is one of those abstract ideas that can mean different things to different people. As part of our journey to becoming professional social workers, we have to have some notion of what it means to each of us also while realizing what we believe to be true will change over time as based on our own life experiences.
To start this process, we are familiarizing ourselves with various philosophers and social justice ideologies that make the foundation of our profession. It is not expected that you will agree with every ideology you read but it is expected that you understand differences between major ideologies and what each one has contributed to what we know about and do within society. These ideologies are critical to also understanding various contexts in which different theories are introduced and interpreted.
- State your position (definition) as to what social justice means to you and why?
- What philosophical position (e.g. utilitarian, egalitarian, libertarian, rational choice, distributive, Plato, Aristotle, etc.) is the basis of your social justice position? How do you know this?
- How might Rawl’s key concepts, the original position and veil of ignorance, shift and/or reinforce your social justice position? Explain.
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Sample Solution
