Guiding Questions

• Should justice reward effort, need, or outcome?

• Is economic inequality always unjust — or sometimes necessary?

• Who decides what people “deserve”?

Wealth, Work, and Worth

In every society, people produce, trade, earn, spend, and save. But economic systems don’t just reflect productivity — they express values.

Ask yourself:

• Why do some jobs (like teachers or farmers) pay little, while others (like celebrities or hedge fund managers) pay millions?

• Why do some people work full-time yet remain poor?

• Is a person’s worth defined by their income or title?

Justice asks not just who has what, but why — and whether it’s fair.

Three Visions of Economic Justice

1. Merit-Based – People should earn rewards based on their effort or talent.

2. Need-Based – Everyone deserves enough to live with dignity, regardless of ability.

3. Equality-Based – Extreme economic gaps should be reduced because they create imbalance in power and opportunity.

Most societies try to balance these views — but rarely succeed without conflict.

Philosophical Perspectives

• Aristotle

Distinguished between “distributive justice” (fair allocation of goods) and “corrective justice” (fair resolution of harm or loss).

• Karl Marx

Believed capitalism inherently exploits workers and creates unjust class divisions. Justice would only arise through collective ownership and the abolition of private capital.

• Robert Nozick

Argued that justice comes from voluntary transactions. Unequal outcomes are just — so long as the process was free and fair.

• John Rawls

Proposed the “difference principle”: inequality is only just if it benefits the least advantaged.

A Thought Experiment

Imagine a child is born into extreme poverty.

They have no access to:

• Quality education

• Healthy food

• Safe housing

Another child is born into luxury and opportunity.

Neither chose their birth.

Should they both compete in the same economy — under the same rules?

If one ends up poor, and the other rich — is that fair?

Justice in the Real Economy

Today’s global economic system shows stark contrasts:

• Billionaires exist alongside people with no clean water.

• Workers in one country make a product they cannot afford to buy.

• Corporations receive government bailouts while individuals struggle with rent.

And yet, many defend the system as just — or at least, necessary.

But who does it serve?

Tools for Economic Justice

• Living wage laws

• Progressive taxation

• Universal basic income (UBI)

• Social safety nets (e.g. healthcare, education, housing)

• Labor rights and unions

• Anti-trust and anti-monopoly enforcement

Each is a different answer to the same question:

How should a just society distribute wealth and power?

Reflect and Discuss

• Is it unjust for someone to be extremely rich while others are homeless?

• Should people inherit wealth — or should it be redistributed?

• What is your idea of a fair economy?

Suggested Readings

• Karl Marx – Capital

• John Rawls – A Theory of Justice

• Amartya Sen – Development as Freedom

• Michael Sandel – What Money Can’t Buy

• Oxfam Reports on Global Inequality