How the Notion of Social Harm is Connected with Ideas of Social Justice - Essay Example

Social Justice How the Notion of social Harm is connected with Ideas of Social Justice Introduction Social justice is said to be an idea that usually mobilizes people to act with the aim of bringing change. These acts of people fighting for social justice have seen oppressive governments being overthrown, rights and entitlements being produced for citizens, children, workers and other groups. Social harm on the other hand, refers to the consequences of forms of inequality such as poverty. Racial discrimination and segregation are also said to be unjust and harmful. They are termed as social harm in that they not only affect individuals, but the society at large. This paper discusses the ways in which the notion of social harm is connected with social justice (Newman & Yeattes, Pg. 2). How social harm helps shed light on social justice and injustice It has been argued by some criminologists that some harm has greater impacts on the society than many acts that are defined as crime. Harm can be divided into four categories; physical harm that involves serious injuries or premature death caused as a result of medical negligence, accidents at work, exposure to environmental pollutants illness, assaults, disease, hunger, lack of shelter, torture and brutality. The second category of harm is economic or financial harm incorporating both poverty and cash and property loss. This covers a broader range of harms that are caused by fraud, such as through mortgage and pension. Mis-selling and income from the poor through regressive taxation also fall under this category (Widdowson, Pg.66). Cultural safety denial is another harm involving notions of development and growth, intellectual and information resources as they are available. There are also psychological and emotional harms that may result from the other forms of harms. Harms become social because in addition to affecting an individual, they have a greater impact on the whole society. There is much harm that individuals can be subjected to. These harms have social origins, hence termed as social harms. The concept of social harm helps in shedding some light in on social injustices. Social harm acts as way of deeper understanding of injustice. The social harm becomes social due to the fact that it causes not only individual problem but also societal problems. The harms affect the individuals concerned and the society as a whole (Widdowson, Pg.74). Forms of inequality like poverty, not only affect individuals, but also affect the economic growth and the wellbeing of a wider society. Failure to recognize and respect particular people ends up in discrimination against them, thus limiting their beneficial aspect of the society through talents, skills and capacities. This social exclusion, produces problem population leading to social ills, division and conflicts. Discrimination, poverty and inequality are potential causes of harms for the whole society. The idea of social harm, however helps in broadening the meaning of crime. This idea of social justice shapes the way in which many people understand the society’s nature as well as the patterns of injustice and disadvantages they experience. Consequently, political and social struggles have been put in place to improve the society. This is done through equitable distribution of resources, burdens and rewards. In this case, people are also treated with much care, dignity and respect. Experiences of justice are found in our daily life experiences, at work, in schools, families and communities. For instance, Nelson Mandela had chosen a non-confrontational approach to the injustice of apartheid (Clarke, Pg. 51). Social scientists, however, argue the sense of injustice is constructed or created socially. The sense of injustice is not inborn but develops in other contexts such as learning from parents, colleagues, friends and relationships. It is usually shaped by a person’s beliefs, values and experiences. By nature of justice being socially created, it means that the ideas regarding what is just and what is unjust can also be changed. Therefore, the notions of the socially unjust can be displaced by alternatives. In usual cases, the people experiencing disadvantage and discrimination are the ones who struggle for new ideas. Those involved fights for the new ideas’ and ways of enacting them at a great cost. The struggles bring about challenges to the social order in existence and the people struggling for them may be termed as problem population. This may lead them to a negative receiving side of community and social responses that may seek to ostracize or criminalize them. For instance, Nelson Mandela was labeled as a terrorist and imprisoned during the apartheid years (Newman & Yeates, Pg.17). Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment is an example of state response to his justice claims through involvement in social movements and political movements. Felt injustices can also lead to protests and dissent as being termed as legal, but may eventually result to amendments of the law. For instance, in the 1950s USA civil rights activists protested against the color bar. This led them to being charged with alleged criminal offences and those found guilty held criminal records. There are many impacts of the modest acts mostly of defiance of the people protesting against the social injustices. The law is a state institution that should embody the ideas of the just and unjust and act through criminal justice institutions that include courts, police prison as well as probation services. However, the state other than just reflecting notions about justice also creates injustice. For instance, through state apartheid systems were legalized, enforced and also upheld in South Africa. USA also penalized and criminalized those who engaged in the civil right struggles (Newman & Yeates, Pg.18). Currently, there is a strong consensus internationally that racial discrimination and segregation, including the laws that maintain and reinforce them are both unjust and harmful to the whole society. The ideas of justice are both changeable and contested. Through contestation, ideas, beliefs and laws change. Contestation occurs through methods such as debate in parliament, the media, actions by political parties and groups consisting of concerned individuals may be viewed as legitimate. We also find out that distributive issues are vital in the satisfactory concept of justice, however, social justice should not be limited to distribution. Social justice, not only relates to the resources and opportunities access but also to whether everybody is recognized with equal measure of worth (Clarke, Pg.33). Non recognition may be regarded as less significant as compared to material inequality, but they are both interdependent dimensions of injustice. Lack of recognition happens to the economically disadvantaged groups and may eventually lead to material inequalities. Lack of recognition may create conditions where harm, abuse and violence towards certain people may flourish. Gender as well forms part of the significant dimensions of social justice struggles. Gender inequalities are linked to economic injustices both domestically and internationally. Global economic inequalities occur between the populations of the rich and the poor countries and may be largely gendered going by the kind of works that women are highly concentrated. For instance, exploitation of women’s labor mainly in poor countries helps to maintain low prices in many supermarkets of affluent nations (Widdowson, Pg.86). Social harms can be caused by lack of recognition and lack of respect by creating conditions in which various forms of abuse and discrimination may flourish. Under this category also lies the violence and harassment usually inflicted upon homosexuals in many societies. Violence against women, abuse of people with disabilities and many other kind of abuse also has wider consequences socially. Systematic exercise of discrimination against a particular group leads to problems affecting the whole society. Due to this, some forms of discrimination are termed as a crime with many states introducing legislation that bans discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity or race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and family status. The long struggles of social movements on both national and transnational scales have resulted to such legislations (Widdowson, Pg.85). The movements were initiated by people claiming to be excluded from employment, prevented from participating in in public life and denied access to services. However, preventing individuals from discrimination alone is not enough, the disability legislation has acknowledged. Adjustments need to be made in the social environment where additional support is provided to eliminate all barriers to inclusion and participation. This means positive action is required in institutions and the wider society through the necessary changes. Social harm, therefore, leads us to the wider concept of social justices and injustices. Through these social harms, such as poverty, the problem concerns the wider society. Potential social injustices are brought about the social harms. Social harm has therefore led to the society shedding light on social injustices and establishing measures through legislation to prevent them and reduce their impact on the society at large (Clarke, Pg.51). As the society becomes more aware of the changing world, the relationship between social change and social justice also undergoes transformation. There is global awareness which involves attending to the wide diversity of arrangements of social justice. There are polies and practices worldwide that will play an integral role in educating us in the ways in which issues of social justice are addressed all over the world. Focus on rights as a way of ensuring social justice has, however, faced criticism in equal measures. The protection for individuals may not necessarily help in reducing the wider patterns of discrimination and inequality in the society at large. For instance, the UK’s equal opportunities legislation failed to redress the aimed structural inequality of pay and status. This is because it focused on addressing the individual cases yet the cases were open and could be brought by both men and or women. Therefore, women remained disadvantaged in this case (Widdowson, Pg.85). How the concept of social harm emerges from a concern with global social justice and social injustice There have been changes in the global policy of approach to urban slums. Traditional perceptions where slum dwellers were considered as dysfunctional populations requiring crime control measures has been globally challenged. The dwellers are no longer seen as to be passive victims, but as equally active agents that are responsible for properly managing their lives. The society has also started handling the slum dwellers as potential drivers of a state economic development. This emphasis regarding individual responsibility is a wider part of responsibilisation in an effort to approach social justice and welfare. Crimes committed by the powerful have often been ignored, whereas much focus is directed to the crimes committed by the powerless. States across the globe have been entangled with the limitations of approaches to criminal and social justice as well as social policy. State actions on the poor and the environment may cause devastating impacts. Our personal practices are affected and also contribute to globalization. Globalization is made up of processes that tend to impact on the ideas of, struggles over and social justice. As consumers of global goods, the decisions we make on a personal basis and commercial operations affect the lives of the poorest people in the world. The international development goals identified by the UNs Millennium Summit will improve on ensuring social justice for all. One of the goals was to achieve an improvement significantly in the lives of a minimum of 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. The summit also looks forward to reduce the population without access to adequate, safe drinking water as well as basic sanitation. Conclusion Several types of harms that individuals face in the society pose potential harms to the society as a whole thus causing social harm. The social harms come as a result of the inequalities such as poverty and discrimination in the society. For instance, poverty may lead to robbery therefore threatening the society’s security. To deal with the problem of social harm in the society, the idea of social justice has been established to mobilize nations and people to bring change in the society. Nations across the globe have successfully come up with suitable measures such as improving the lifestyles of slum dwellers to ensure social justice for all. Reflection I enjoyed working on this TMA where the tutor’s feedback on the previous TMAs helped in identifying the great concepts using the relevant material. I drew largely on the learning skills using case studies and developed new skills in the use of evidence charts. The most exciting part was learning the potential impacts that the social harm poses across the globe. References Clarke, J. Looking for social justice: welfare states and beyond. Social Justice: welfare, crime and society. Chapter 2. Newman, J. & Yeates, N. Making social justice: ideas, struggles and responses. Social Justice: welfare, crime and society. Chapter 1 & 6. Widdowson, B. Well-being, harm and work. Social Justice: welfare, crime and society. Chapter 3. Read More