Marxism and Social Justice

The class-based Marxist radical social critique holds that the structures of society and the material conditions of existence block most people from accessing social goods, which are owned by the top social classes that own resources and means of production. Both rich (capitalists) and poor (workers) are alienated, the former because they feel superior and the latter because their options are so limited. The gap between rich and poor is the norm but is unjust, and the problem is amplified where oppression is experienced by minority constituencies. Social justice requires radical transformation of society so as to equalize access to social goods.

The authors cite Marx's view that workers become so indignant that they unite to seize some control over their economic lives: via regulation of corporate finance and work rules; via remedies such as affirmative action that bridge the gap between privilege and oppression; via fair application of laws to all classes, more equal distribution of social goods, and proactive attempts to eliminate poverty and the social envy that comes with it and that can induce crime.

Chapter 2: Jurick, N. C. (1998). Socialist feminism, criminology, and social justice.

While Jurick acknowledges that socialist feminist theory initially adopted the Marxist idea that class warfare and capitalist oppression of the masses

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" (p. 65). Problems arise when one acts on one's own agenda or that of someone else. Much of the chapter reads like a utopian dream, but Pepinski acknowledges that the peacemaking approach would take generations to implement, especially at the institutional level (e.g., the criminal-justice system). Even so, Pepinski insists that "people cannot talk, listen together, and fight one another at the same time" (p. 69), and as long as the last named activity is the first recourse, says this chapter, social cohesion is likely to be elusive. Chapter 4: Quinney, R. (1998). The prophetic meaning of social justice. This chapter begins by asserting affinities between Marx's utopian materialist vision and the moral/prophetic tradition of Judeo-Christian thought holding that present problems are a prelude to fulfillment of what ought to be, or, the unity of "is" and "ought," of essence (ought) and existence (present conditions) (p. 73). This confluence of disparate strands of thought might be termed Christian Marxism, or Marxist Christianity, though Quinney does not use that term and though Marx is as profoundly secular as Christianity is insistently faith based. Marx's social analysis is mixed with the moral vision of Christianity to arg
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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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