Many contemporary thinkers both from Christian and non Christian viewpoints, have obsessed over the concept of “social justice” for decades in the West. Part of this trend surely stems form increased gap between the uber rich and the poor, with arguments for social equality as an attempt to bridge this gap and bring more opportunity to those shielded from prosperity and social status. The idea of natural rights and then legal rights have been critiqued and written about since Antiquity. In the Enlightenment, philosopher John Locke wrote about the right to life, liberty and property. The American constitution evolved from these concepts accordingly. Then the United Nations affirmed the universal declaration of human rights. Thus the preoccupation about “rights” has endured without doubt with intellectuals and social activists seeing this concept as the path to greater equality and opportunity for those “marginalized” in society. In this post, I want to posit another way of looking at rights because, in my mind, this idea of individual rights is much like the concept of horsepower in a drag racing car. I used to assume, that the more horsepower, the faster the car runs the 1/4 mile race. Not so. There are other factors to consider like torque and weight of the car. The end goal is to possess the most “power” to get across that finish line as fast as possible. Therefore, I argue that “rights” alone do possess the requisite “power” to vault people into a better life on earth. Someone may possess a right to property, for example, but not have the power, means or knowledge to purchase land. In the USA, about 65% of the population own the home they live in; in Canada, the rate climbs slightly to 67%. You see here in this example that people in North American have the right to own property but a significant minority do not. The solution by “progressives” or political leftists is often to tax the rich to give to the poor or a similar means to establish “justice.” The perspective in this essay is that external rights and political and legal avenues are not enough to create opportunity. What is required is an internal push which I refer to as power. This power is directly related to being in obedience to God’s laws, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaish 1:18-20) Here in this passage we read that prosperity results form obediance to God’s will and that rebellion brings ruin. The choice is ours to make, but the important factor here is that the choice is, in reality, a movement of the human will to fill rights with power. This involves our freedom to choose rightly to accomplish the possibilities before us. Rights alone cannot bring justice; one needs the inner power of spirit, which brings drive and tenacity to the opportunities available.
Justice From Another Perspective
