An Overview of Social Justice

We should establish the concrete contents and rules of social justice in the modern sense on the conceptual basis of equality, freedom, and social cooperation and on the practical basis of modernization and the market economy, as well as in accordance with the basic value orientations of social justice. The specific contents and rules are principally manifested in the following four aspects: the guarantee of fundamental rights (the rule of the “safety net”); equality of opportunity (the ex ante rule); distribution according to contribution (the ex post rule); social adjustment (the rule of social adjustment). The basic value orientations of social justice include two integral parts: enabling all members of society to share in social development and providing sufficient space for individual development. Social justice should be based on objectivity and neutrality, prioritizing the reasonable interests of every member or group within society. This approach ensures that state policies and institutions do not favor specific social groups. Historically, thinkers have continually sought to understand the essence of social justice and its practical implications.