Equity and Social Justice

TLDR

Aristotle’s primitive equity model of social justice has been expanded by philosophers such as Homans, Adams, Walster, and Berscheid in recent years. The essay proposes a framework to analyze contemporary theories and research on social justice and considers how power shapes its definition. The authors review equity theory, examine the equality‑proportionality controversy, offer a simple equity resolution, and speculate on power’s influence.

Abstract

Scholars and social reformers have long been interested in trying to define “social justice.” In this essay, we present a framework for understanding recent theorizing and research on social justice. First we review equity theory. Aristotle proposed a primitive equity model of social justice; in recent years, social philosophers such as Homans, Adams, and Walster, Berscheid, and Walster have reformulated and extended the model. Next we describe the equality‐proportionality controversy and a simple equity resolution. Finally we speculate concerning the impact of power on society's definition of equity and “perfect social justice.”