World Social Justice Day
In your understanding are we living in a socially just world? Do you see wealth being equally distributed? Are equal opportunities in place for everyone? Are some more privileged than others? Or do you believe that struggle for social justice is not over yet, or has not even started?
This day is meant to remind us of these questions and the answers you give, if even only one of them is a No, then it means we are not there yet, and it is our responsibility and most of all, right, to make sure that more and more people are able to answer yes to all of the above.
Definitely if we look at the past we have made gigantic steps in this direction, however, the past is not the direction we are heading to and in our future outlook there is always more than can be accomplished and achieved in terms of social justice.
What needs to be done about discrepancies in the distribution of wealth? What personal liberties do we need to safeguard and promote today? How can we ensure fair privilege opportunities? What duties do we have concerning our social role, and do we receive in return for fulfilling that duty what we duly earned?
Today much effort is being put towards safeguarding social mobility ‘’s barriers removal, allowing meritocracy and reward to effort and competence regardless of backgrounds, for the benefit of the individual and the community as a whole, and protect this by ensuring economic justice and safety nets. In parallel to that, there is a lively debate regarding social rights and duties of both individuals and communities (and society’s institutions) with the purpose of equally sharing the burdens of cooperation as well as the benefits, for example taxation, public services, social insurance, equal opportunities, and fair distribution of resource and wealth.
Here at Rescogita we very much cherish the definition given by Taparelli the theologian who came up with the definition “Social Justice” – “Social Justice follows the principle of brotherly love, …reflecting the duty one has to one’s other self in the interdependent abstract unity of the human person in society…” This resonates with us at Rescogita and our belief in the principles of Community Organising as a tool to develop communities that foster individual rights and duties and care for the non-human world.
Rescogita is a startup that focuses on education through training, coaching, capacity building and consulting, grounded on the principles of ecopsychology, meaning in identifying practical solutions to affect the wellbeing of the individual, the community and the biosphere in a single approach.