What Is Distributive Justice

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Social Justice
McKenna in his book, A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching, stresses equal opportunities of all members of society in his description of social justice. He says that it is achieved “when people are giving opportunities to be active and productive participants in the life of society as part of their obligations, which is also the duty of the society to do so” (39). Chukwujekwu agrees with McKenna, but explains further that this aspect of justice deals more with “economic, racial and political relationships; nevertheless, he believes that it is not restricted to them. For him, it is that justice which “impels individuals and public officials to promote the common good and the common welfare taken distributively and collectively”
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Hence, much of literature reviews are on distributive justice and its connection to other areas.

2.2 Theories and Principles of Distributive Justice The relationship that exists in the sharing of social benefits and burdens is said to be based on one theory or another in the course of a given period and circumstance. In particular, theories of distributive justice “seek to specify what is meant by a just distribution of goods among members of society” (Web 09/10/2016). Some authors and socio-political ideologists have sought to explain how a just society ought to be through different political ideologies such as capitalism, socialism, communism, welfarism and paternalism. Some scholars are reviewed based on these ideologies in relation to distributive justice.
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Bruce scott in his article, “The Political Economy of Capitalism”, argues that capitalism is designed to promote the productive use of societal resources in order to meet consumer needs in the short run and to raise the standard of living through the time (Web 09/04/2017). Ha-Joon Chang in his book, Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, believes that “the wage gaps between rich and poor countries exist not mainly because of differences in individual productivity but mainly because of immigration control, and that poor countries are poor not because of their poor people, many of whom can compete with their counterparts in rich countries, but because of their rich people” (Web 08/04/2017). He further asserts that what an “individual earns in rich and well organized countries is not fully and totally a reflection of their worth in terms of productivity and brilliance, but what the system has put in place for them” (Web

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