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Agenda - 10-23-2007-3b
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Agenda - 10-23-2007-3b
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BOCC
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10/23/2007
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Agenda
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3b
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Minutes - 20071023
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30 <br />Those concerned with social justice may believe that: <br />Historical inequities insofar as they affect injustices should be corrected until the <br />actual inequities no longer exist. <br />The redistribution of wealth, power and status for the individual, community and <br />societal good. <br />It is government's (or those who hold significant power) responsibility to ensure a <br />basic quality of life for all its citizens. <br />Id. While it is beyond my scope here to address the critique of social justice, the Board should <br />become aware of such criticism, the most prominent stemming from Friedrich Hayek. See <br />Michael Novak, "Defining Social Justice," First Things (Dec. 2000); <br />htt~•//www firstthin~s com/ftissues/ft0012/opinion/novak heml. This also discusses the historical evolution <br />of the concept (term). <br />The Social Justice Training Institute defines social justice as both a process and a goal: <br />"The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of groups in society that is <br />mutually shaped to meet their needs: Social justice includes a vision of society that is equitable <br />and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure." http://www.sjti.or~/. It is <br />important to recognize, as here, that the vision of social justice be developed synergistically as <br />both a process and goal. Goals are not self-regulating or self-implementing; attention to process <br />is important to address legitimacy and to measure efficiencies and effectiveness. <br />While social justice seeks a more just society in general, it focuses most directly on a <br />constituency of those who are marginalized, subordinated, excluded, and underrepresented. We <br />must ask: "What is the injustice they experience? What is the justice they seek?" Without <br />asking these questions, it will be hard to respond to their legitimate expectations. According to <br />Indigenous Australia, "Social justice means being entitled to the same rights and services as all <br />other citizens." Ask yourself, perhaps from a privileged position, what is social justice? <br />Indigenous Australia answers: "Social justice is what faces you in the morning. It is awakening <br />in a house with adequate water supply, cooking facilities and sanitation. It is the ability to <br />nourish your children and send them to school where their education not only equips them for <br />employment but also reinforces their knowledge and understanding of their cultural inheritance. <br />It is the prospect of genuine employment and good health: a life of choices and opportunity, free <br />from discrimination:" Mick Dodson, Annual Report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander <br />Social Justice Commissioner, 1993. http://www. dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/social.cfin. As <br />members of the Orange County community wake up, what do they see? What basic necessities, <br />if any, are absent? What frustrates. their hope? What opportunity-denying circumstances <br />constrain them? What, in the name of social justice, can this local governmental body do to <br />provide redress and close inequality gaps? <br />I recently co-authored a law book of cases and materials on social justice. See Martha R. <br />Mahoney, John O. Calmore, and Stephanie M. Wildman, Social Justice: Professionals, <br />Communities and Law 49-51 (2003). After an extensive literature review, we concluded that <br />there is no single vision of social justice among the theorists who use this term. Some use the <br />phrase social justice interchangeably with justice. Some use the concept as a counterpoint to <br />injustice, to convey idealistic humanitarian goals. Some view social justice as requiring a higher <br />moral ground than self-interest. In Europe, for instance, many nations attempt to harmonize <br />economic efficiency and social justice. Others use the term to describe particular aspects of <br />freedom, such as freedom of speech or freedom from arbitrary searches, seizures, and detention. <br />.... ...... ....... .... ...... <br />...................................... ......................................................... ....... ....... ....... <br />.... <br />ORAIVGE,COUNTYSOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL REPORT Page 23 of 59 <br />_ _.. . <br />
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