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Religious affiliates debate faith’s role in social justice
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by Jacquelyn Ryberg
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Religion’s role in social justice was debated and questioned
by University of Wisconsin students and local faith representatives at a panel
discussion Monday evening. Representatives from St. Paul’s University Catholic Center,
the Muslim Students’ Association and UW Hillel presented each religion’s stance
concerning social justice. According to Joel Bennett, director of engagement for UW
Hillel, the Jewish perspective of social justice asserts the importance of
giving back to the community, although ultimately the actual reason for giving
is inconsequential. “It is wonderful if you are giving for the right reasons,”
Bennett said. “But at the end of the day it does not matter why you are doing
it, as long as you are doing it.” “This problem needs to be taken up by all people who want to
fight for a more just society,” said Connie Nielson, representative for St.
Paul’s University Catholic Center. “It is not just for Catholics, Muslims or
Jews to do on their own. It is a task that everyone has to do.” Maha Hilal, graduate student and representative for the
Muslim Students’ Association, explained the Islamic take on social justice in
the community. “Islam not only encourages believers to work towards social justice,
but it also demands it of them,” Hilal said. “Social justice is to be sought
for any cause and for any reason. It is an obligation.” As the representatives portrayed the Islamic, Catholic and
Jewish outlooks of social justice, UW students spoke out as well. “I think there is a big difference between social justice
and faith,” said Brad Frias, intern for St. Paul’s University Catholic Center.
“You do not need faith to be a person like Bill Gates, but if people are
faithful they are going to say, ‘Yes, faith can add to social justice, and here
is why.’” Paula Tran, another UW student, said she is concerned
younger people are becoming less involved with community activity — an issue
the panel did not address. “I think especially now with our generation, we are seeing a
lot of apathy towards issue of social justice,” Tran said. “But there is a
reason for why young people are becoming less and less involved in social
justice, and they did not say much about that.” Students also said it is important to note that any donation
is important, no matter how large or how small. “I think a lot of young people are getting the notion you
have to have a lot to give back,” said Courtney Nelson, a UW student. “That is
definitely not true. You don’t need a $100 check to donate.” Ultimately, the group presented ways to foster social
justice activism in the community by starting small, getting people on a more
personal level and asking people to different prayer services, said Allison
Vogel, member of the Leadership Through Social Justice Committee. “The biggest things you can do is get angry, watch the news,
walk around campus with your eyes open, notice things and then do something
about it,” said Bennett. “Part of being a leader is creating that change. Go
out and turn that conversation into action.”
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 8:08am):
What is "social justice"? The theory that implies and justifies the practice of socialism. And what is "socialism"? Domination by the State. What is "socialized" is state-controlled. So what is "totalitarian" socialism other than total socialism, i.e., state control of everything? And what is that but the absence of a free market in anything, be it goods or ideas? Those who contend that a socialist government need not be totalitarian, that it can allow a free market -- independent choice, the very source of "inequality"! -- in some things (ideas) and not in others (goods -- as if, say, books were one or the other), are saying only that the socialist ethic shouldn't be applied consistently.
This is nothing less than a confession of moral cowardice. It is the explanation for why, from Moscow to Managua, all the rivalries within the different socialist revolutions have been won by, not the "democratic" or "libertarian" socialists, but the totalitarians, i.e., those who don't qualify their socialism with antonyms. "Totalitarian socialism" is not a variation but a redundancy, which is why half-capitalist hypocrites will always lose out to those who have the courage of their socialist convictions. (Likewise, someone whose idea of "social justice" is a moderate welfare state is someone who's willing to tolerate far more "social injustice" than he's willing to eliminate.)
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 8:09am):
What is "social justice"? The abolition of privacy. Its repudiation of property rights, far from being a fundamental, is merely one derivation of this basic principle. Socialism, declared Marx, advocates "the positive abolition of private property [in order to effect] the return of man himself as a social, i.e., really human, being." It is the private status of property -- meaning: the privacy, not the property -- that stands in opposition to the social (i.e., "socialized," and thus "really human") nature of man. Observe that the premise holds even when we substitute x for property. If private anything denies man's social nature, then so does private everything. And it is the negation of anything and everything private -- from work to worship to even family life -- that has been the social affirmation of the socialist state.
What is "social justice"? The opposite of capitalism. And what is "capitalism"? It is Marx's coinage (minted by his materialist dispensation) for the Western liberalism that diminished state power from absolutism to limited government; that, from John Locke to the American Founders, held that each individual has an inviolable right to his own life, liberty, and property, which government exists solely to secure. Now what would the reverse of this be but a resurrection of Oriental despotism, the reactionary increase of state power from limited government to absolutism, i.e., "totalitarianism," the absolute control of absolutely everything? And what is the opposite -- the violation -- of securing the life, liberty, and property of all men other than mass murder, mass tyranny, and mass plunder?
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 8:10am):
The contemporary left remains possessed by the spirit of Marx (present even where he's not) and the best overview of his ideology remains Thomas Sowell's "Marxism: Philosophy and Economics," which is complemented perfectly by the most accessible refutation of that ideology, David Conway's "A Farewell to Marx."
Hayek's majestic "The Mirage of Social Justice" is a challenging yet rewarding effort, while his "The Road to Serfdom" provides an unparalleled exposition of how freedom falls to tyranny.
Moving from theory to practice, "Communism: A History," Richard Pipes' slim survey, ably says all that is needed.
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 11:00am):
Wow, you're crazy. Yeah, helping the poor is evil. Good call, crazy rightist.
Anonymous (March 4, 2008 @ 3:53pm):
Wow, you're indoctrinated. Yeah, the road to hell is still paved with good intentions. Just ask how social justice helped the poor under Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Honneker, Mussolini, Caeucescu, Mao, Pol Pot, Ho Chi, il Sung, Mugabe, Mengistu, Castro, Che, PFLP, PKK, FMLN, FARC, IRA, ETA, Red Army faction, Shining Path, Rachel Carson, etc., ad nauseum.
100s of millions of poor corpses don't lie. Own it.
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