WebLog 4

In class and through our readings, we've struggled to develop an understanding of social justice. The liberal theory of social justice concerns matters of distributed justice. However, should social justice also concern matters, as Young asserts, of power, domination and oppression? Please explore the website Where Race Lives which concerns how United States government policies and past discrimination have made generating wealth easier for some Americans than others.

Social justice plays a huge roll in the distribution of power, domination and oppression. The Where Race Lives website helped me understand and realize clearer how white people back in the day, and even today shape the laws and the economy around themselves while leaving the nonwhites hanging. For example when Social Security was first created it was only for the white workers and excluded the nonwhites. With Social Security and other acts, the whites had more protection, easier and higher chance of getting and keeping better jobs while the nonwhites were the last to get hired and first to get fired. Because of these acts whites had a better chance of being homeowners in the suburbs while the nonwhites rented in the city. With owning a house and generally having more wealth its easier to save and pass down those things to future generations and while doing that you're giving the next generation a head start, when if you don't the next generation as to start working from the ground up continuing the discrimination and gap. The story of Max (white) and Byron (nonwhite) perfectly illustrates that. They were both born at the same time and had the same job, but Max made two times more than Byron. This happened because of all the discrimination and laws. Max had wealthy parents that set him up better for his live than Byron's parents did. At the same job Max had all of the money to himself which he could spend however he wanted while Byron had to pay for his loans, parents and any emergencies. The downward spiral part of the website explained that whites contribute a lot of resources to their communities and once nonwhites move in, they simply get scared and move away taking the resources with them. Doing so leaves a gap in the community that taxes have to make up for it and the nonwhites that are not as rich simply don't have the money and the community goes down hill from there.

Basically what I had learned is that previous' generations wealth, which they have acquired through past unjust laws, make my life easier because I don't have to start from bare dirt.