Why I Hate Social Justice

If any well-intentioned individual wants to help the world the first thing they must do is abandon any support for social justice. The reason? Social justice is a backward looking movement that focuses more on complaining about civilization than substantively solving its problems. Additionally, over the last ten years savvy capitalists have hijacked the movement to sell grungy hoodies and bad music to dissilusioned youths. Essentially, social justice has become an angry fad.

What is needed instead are pragmatic mechanisms that increase opportunity and development for all levels of society. Instead of notoriously ineffective gun buy back programs, why not use available funds for sports leagues? At a minimum, such organizations would give kids living in the shadow of gun violence a momentary respite from the chaos. Instead of lowering graduate school standards to allow for underprivileged applicants, why not dramatically increase salaries for inner-city teachers? Those schools would soon have the best and the brightest to replace their current Teach for America rookies. Instead of increasing city taxes to fund welfare programs, why not lower taxes and public programs to the point where private enterprise can't resist the area? Why not let freedom do what it does best, foster wealth and innovation?

The question will then be posed as to whether or not wealth indeed advances the cause of society and/or social justice. When considering this question, the fundamental purpose of social justice must be clearly articulated. Is it seeking equality or progress? If equality is the goal then yes, wealth handicaps social justice. If however, progress defined as literacy, health standards, and per capita GDP is the goal then increasing wealth is the only option. In the past 15 years China and India have become two of the most economically polarized nations in the world. The gap between their rich and poor is increasing at alarming rates, obviousely not good for equality. At the same time, the economic progress of China and India has lifted more than 500 million people out of poverty. This means more Chinese people are getting quality healthcare, more Indian women are entering the workforce, and more Asian children are going to bed with full stomachs. So while inequality is growing in every way, so too is quality of life. The only question that remains is what is the goal of social justice?

Some may use disdain for social justice as an excuse to ignore social problems. This would be a grave abuse of the argument. Social justice should be abandoned not out of ignorance or insensitivity, but because the movement is ineffective. Instead of lamenting capitalism, the activist should fully capitalize upon all that liberal society has to offer. What if the immigration rights protestor entered law school? What if the compassionate student applied to medical school? What if the entreupeneur went to business school? From these positions of influence one could then lead by example. The lawyer could donate pro-bono hours to immigrants living next door. The doctor could sacrifice a few thousand dollars to work in the inner-city. The businessman could invest his profits in the downtrodden neighborhood. In short, they can make a lasting impression on injustice. That is if they're not too busy with their gun buy back programs.