Social Justice

Civilisational history, in a way, has been man’s unending quest for social justice, leading him to strive not only for equality, but also for the abolition of discriminations in every form. Social justice, however, has defied a precise definition. And, as a concept, has been viewed differently in different contexts — dependent, as it has been, on the contigencies of time, place and person. Here is a multi-author work trying to sharpen the readers’ understanding of social justice against the backdrop of its diverse concepts across the ages. An assemblage of 15 insightful essays, each written by a reputed scholar, the book looks afresh at the varying connotations of Social Justice, in all its essential perspectives: moral, legal, economic, political and historical. Attempting, thus, to visualise its concept, the authors consider social justice vis-a-vis democracy, gender questions, justice-making mechanisms, retribution, and even the Hindu doctrine of karma. Of special interest to readers is the analysis, by some authors, of the “Indian experiments” of social justice in extending preferential treatment to members of the ‘exploited’ classes and evaluate its impact on the Indian society in general and on the ‘preferred’ classes in particular. Volume 5 in the “Utkal Studies in Philosophy” series, this collection is an important contribution not just to the ever-continuing dialogue on social justice, but to “Analytical Philosophy of Values” as well. Social thinkers/activities, sociologists, social scientists, and, more specially, the scholars of philosophy will find it a useful acquisition.