This past week a monument to Martin Luther King, Jr. was unveiled on the Mall. On Friday, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson took the occasion to lament the continued lack of “economic justice” in this country. That term, along with the tiresome “social justice” shibboleth and others, have become ubiquitous among the left. There are even courses in major universities in the latter, as well as a degree offered by some. Well, such a degree may qualify one for a government job, but is about as useful as on in basket weaving to prepare a student for a productive career in any sector.
Any time you use an adjective with “justice” it becomes qualified and thus, diminished. There is no such thing as “social justice” or “economic justice” — only justice. It’s hard enough to come by as it is. Those who insist upon qualified justice make it impossible to obtain real, unqualified justice.
I posted the foregoing paragraph as a comment to Mr. Robinson’s essay, and received the following addition from another reader.
“My idea of economic justice is that stupid, lazy, undisciplined people are allowed to starve to death.
“My idea of social justice is that violent predatory thugs get the death penalty every time.”
