Suchergebnisse

IN ATTEMPTING TO DISCOVER CORRECT PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE, ALL DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN CONCERNED WITH SOME KIND OF DISTRIBUTION OF 'GOODS'. THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PEOPLE CAME TO HAVE RECIPROCAL RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE PRINCIPLES, REMAINS UNDEFINED. THE KERNEL OF THE ISSUE IS NOT THE RECOGNITION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AS A 'GENERAL RIGHT' OF ALL IN THE SOCIETY TO SHARE THAT SOCIETY'S GOODS, BUT AS A PARTICULAR KIND OF 'SPECIAL RIGHT'. SPECIAL RIGHTS (& OBLIGATIONS) ARE THOSE WHICH ARISE OUT OF SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIPS (CONTRACTUAL, BLOOD, ETC), & AFFECT ONLY THOSE INVOLVED IN THE RELATIONSHIP. THE MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLE OF THE SPECIAL RIGHT CONCEPT MAY BE FOUND IN THE THEORY OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT INVOLVING THE RECIPROCAL RIGHT OBLIGATIONS OF CITIZENS & GOVERNMENTS SEEN AS QUASICONTRACTUAL BY NATURE, WHICH IN THEIR BROADEST INTERPRETATION MAY BE SEEN AS GUARANTEEING SUCH SPECIAL RIGHTS AS EQUAL JUSTICE (THE EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF A SOCIAL GOOD). THE QUESTION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE MUST BE ENVISIONED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PAST & PRESENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY. GENERALLY APPLICABLE PRINCIPLES OF SUCH JUSTICE MAY APPLY ONLY IF THOSE SOCIAL ENTITIES TO WHICH THEY SHOULD PERTAIN HAVE CERTAIN COMMON STRUCTURAL FEATURES. PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE, WHICH ARE THOSE SPECIFYING THE CONTENT OF SPECIAL RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS, SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE 50% OF BICONDITIONAL PRINCIPLES, OF WHICH THE OTHER HALF SPECIFIES NECESSARY & SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES. C. LELAND.

The introduction to a written symposium on Soc Sci & Soc Policy. It is noted that (a) the US as a nation has always invested most heavily in technological as opposed to soc change; & (b) US soc sci's are not as clean, precise, predictive, or dependable as its natural & physical sci's. Soc sci'ts rarely hold positions of power in the federal gov & are rarely able to guide the development & implementation of soc policy. There is little indication that in the future soc sci'ts will seek to propose strategies of soc intervention & expect to be taken seriously by those in a position to implement soc policy & soc change. It is one thing to design & plan res & evaluation & another to understand & control the logistical factors that do in fact intervene & determine res & evaluation outcomes. It is this lack of implementation awareness that minimizes the potential value of soc sci in matters of soc policy & sac programming. Soc sci'ts can identify variables, but they cannot demonstrate how one goes about the business of manipulating these same variables in an ongoing soc process. Perhaps in the yrs to pome, soc sci style & methodoolgy will allow for basic res leading to demonstration & exp'tion, with an ongoing evaluation of processes & change, & with a final feed-back into res. Such a model would contribute to the building of soc sci theory, the improvement of soc sci methodology, & place soc sci in a better position to assist in the development of soc policy & in solving soc problems confronting the world. M. Maxfield.