Social Justice: Liberal or Critical?

The Discussion Will Be Muddled and Confused Until Most Folks Can Make the Distinction

This is a guest post by Michael Mills, Ph.D., who is an Associate Professor of Psychology, and former Chair, at the Psychology Department at Loyola Marymount University.   He is a co-founder of the Society for Open Inquiry in Behavioral Science.

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Language hijacking is an integral part of critical theory and the Woke movement.   

Of particular concern in this essay is the redefinition of the central term, "social justice," to conform to critical theory ideologies.   Since this redefinition is covert, one cannot object to "social justice" without appearing to be a racist, a sexist or a [insert preferred epithet here].   

The term social justice should be reclaimed and rehabilitated.  It should also be pluralized to indicate that there are different, and conflicting, social justices.

Specifically, liberal vs. critical social justice should be differentiated.   When social justice comes up for discussion, the first question that should be posed is:  “What type of social justice are you referring to -- liberal or critical?”

The table below provides a brief summary of the key distinctions, philosophies and thinkers associated with these different approaches to social justice.

Social Justice: Liberal or Critical?