Christianity Today carries an interview with my friend and sometime co-conspirator, Gideon Strauss, the new chief executive officer of the Center for Public Justice. I was struck by this exchange:
Define justice. How does it differ from public justice and social justice?
In the biggest sense, justice is when all God’s creatures receive what is due them and contribute out of their uniqueness to our common existence. We are called to do justice in every sphere of our lives: how I love and educate my daughters, collaborate with my colleagues, interact with neighbors. Public justice is the political aspect—the work of citizens and political office bearers shaping a public life for the common good. Social justice is the civil society counterpart—nonpolitical organizations that promote justice (emphasis mine).
At Redeemer University College we have seen an increasing interest amongst our students in social justice. In fact, we now have a social justice major, an annual social justice conference and a course in the Religion Department devoted to the topic. Although I am happy to see this enthusiasm develop, it is not necessarily clear to me that everyone knows how the adjective social is intended to modify the noun justice. I quite like Strauss’ definition, as it nicely captures the truth that all of us are called by God to do justice, not only within the context of the state, but within the various communal settings for which we bear responsibility.
June 23rd, 2010 | 11:02 am | #1
[...] Koyzis picks this conversation up at the First Things blog. Comment will be hosting a symposium this Fall on this very question. But there is a great deal [...]
June 23rd, 2010 | 1:33 pm | #2
This answer is striking. One bit that doesn’t seem fitting, however, is this:
“for the common good” doesn’t quite fit here. This phrase ought to be replaced with something like “to ensure everyone receive what is due them.” It would be, for example, an injustice to enact policies that deprive a small minority of citizens of what is due them for the sake of “the common good.”
June 23rd, 2010 | 1:39 pm | #3
“shaping a public life” also seems odd. Politics and the policies enacted thereby tend to affect much more than the “public life.”
June 23rd, 2010 | 1:57 pm | #4
It’s natural to think that a given subject matter either is or is not a matter of social justice. But, on Strauss’s definition, whether or not something is a matter of social justice seems to depend upon whether or not there’s a “nonpolitical organization” trying to promote it.
That seems quite strange. I would have thought that issues of social justice could be promoted through both political and nonpolitical means.
Strauss’s final statement seems a bit colloquial though. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding it.
June 25th, 2010 | 12:43 pm | #5
We need a view of social justice that does not get the church to capitulate to the State. The more Christians look to the State to do what they ought to be doing, the more power the State will have over the Church and this is not a good thing.
June 25th, 2010 | 1:20 pm | #6
[...] ChristianityToday recently conducted a brief interview with Gideon Strauss, the new CEO of The Center for Public Justice. I came across the interview through a post by David T. Koyzis over at First Things. [...]
June 27th, 2010 | 4:17 pm | #7
David T. Koyzis,
I wonder whether you still quite like Strauss’ “definition.” While it does “captures the truth that all of us are called by God to do justice, not only within the context of the state,” aren’t you setting the bar a bit low?
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