Distributive Justice

Perhaps one of the most debated concepts that arises in discussions of society and social interaction is that of distributive justice. Philosophers and researchers alike would agree that societies and interaction should be just. They may, however, disagree about what constitutes a just society or what forms of interaction are fair. Questions of distributive justice pertain to the creation and evaluation of the wide array of distributions of benefits and burdens to groups and to individuals. As such, they underlie fundamental issues regarding the evaluation of inequality at societal and interpersonal levels, which, in turn, influence the maintenance of social order or the fomenting of social change. Groups and individuals readily decry distributions that they perceive to be unfair, potentially upsetting the status quo and stimulating change.

Although distributive justice issues apply to multiple levels of analysis, three fundamental questions cross-cut these levels. The first, “What is justice?” addresses the problem of conceptualization. Abstract principles define what is just or fair, but they are often prescriptive or normative and thus may fail to capture what people believe to be just. Indeed, despite the existence of justice rules, evaluations of justice are typically subjective. The second key question, “Why do people differentially perceive injustice?” provides a basis for exploring factors shaping the subjective evaluation of injustice. And finally, the third question underlies the potential for maintaining social order or stimulating social change: “How do people respond to perceived injustice?”

Social psychologists, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, and others employ a variety of theoretical ideas to address these questions. Guillermina Jasso's (2001) theoretical framework for justice analysis offers building blocks relevant to each of these questions. Justice theory and research apply to many diverse social domains, including interpersonal dynamics, organizational policies, criminal justice, and income inequality. Indeed, the application of distributive justice principles, implicitly or explicitly, to concerns about housing, the availability of health care services, trade-offs to protect the environment, affirmative action, and so on constitute issues of social justice.