A Solutions-based Approach to Social Justice

The glowing horseshoe in the figure above is at the optimal point Matt Haig discusses in How to Stop Time. This optimal point exists in many things. Not enough of the independent variable and the dependent variable is not maximized. Too much of the independent variable and the value of the dependent variable decreases.

The figure below illustrates this point with Government power and control as the independent variable and Liberty and Prosperity as the dependent variable. With limited government power, such as a failed stated at the extreme and the US under the Articles of Confederation at closer to the mid-point, the government cannot manage the infrastructure, security, and over watch needed to maximize liberty and prosperity. At the opposite extreme is a totalitarian government that squashes initiative and freedom.

Society can use the same approach to balance justice and liberty and prosperity. Not enough justice leads to instability and popular unrest. The US in the 1920s and 1930s is an example of this problem with the racial injustice. Too much mercy/clemency leads to crime, much as we see today when prosecutors refuse to prosecute or governments decriminalize behavior. Too much justice replaces judgment with by the book revenge.

Revenge is moot for social justice. The people who perpetuated slavery and racism are long dead and cannot be punished. BLM and other social justice groups therefore say racism is institutionalized and an integral part of American society (see Part 4—Mining for Controlling Labels). I am not sure they understand institutions. As discussed in Reconstructing History Part 5: The Education Institution and Creating History, institutions are essentially people, organizations, policies, and processes, bonded together by culture. Clearly, American policies and processes are not racially discriminatory, unless we consider the policies to hire targeted demographic groups rather than the best qualified person. Most organizations and the government engage in diversity, inclusion, and equity, so they are not racist, again unless you look at the fact they use policies and processes to effectively discriminate against white males. That leaves people and culture. The social justice movement has a stranglehold on culture and people are afraid to speak their minds in this day of firings and shunning if they go against diversity, inclusion, and equity. There may be institutionalized racism, but it is not what BLM claims it to be.

This has been the case starting at least in the 1980s. Now, I doubt those in the social justice movement will see it that way. And that is the problem. Neither side really sees and understands the other side’s points and pain. We are beyond intelligent dialog and engage in polemics rather than critical thinking.

To address the concerns in the social justice movement, we need to consider the fundamental perceptions of justice and equity and acknowledge the historical reasons they exist and show the enormous steps the US has made to resolve these issues.

• Education rather than indoctrination, is critical.
  • Teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • Fact-based education that acknowledges historical injustice but uses critical thinking skills and case studies to get students to think deeply about the issues and engage in solution-oriented dialog.
    • Slavery is just one facet. The Robber Barons in the Gilded Age are another. What challenges did the Industrial Revolution present to society?
    • How were slavery and indentured servitude similar and how did they differ?
    • How was slavery considered during the debates over the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?
    • How did Andrew Jackson shape events before the American Civil War?
    • How are policies and implementing programs developed in the US?
  • Teach the founding of the Republic and why we have the government and culture we have.
  • Objectively assess the Great Society programs.
  • Use games and simulations to help students understand the complexity of the issues raised above and use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to work through case studies.
• Impartial news and information reporting is critical. Editorials are also important, but they should clearly be labeled as such and separate from the fact-based reporting. Information is the modern equivalent of railroads and oil in the early 20^th century. Just as President Teddy Roosevelt busted the trusts of his day, we need to assess the global tech companies and objectively determine whether they are the modern versions of trusts that need trust-busting to restore healthy competition and free flow of unbiased reporting and information.
• Assess US policies and programs. Do they help or do they hurt? See Faustian Bargain Part 2: Compassionate Conservatism: Is it needed Is it Real? This requires dispassionate and objective analysis, but if we really want to help people, we need to understand what we are doing now and its effects. Simply extending and deepening existing programs may make the problems worse. Games and simulations may help in the assessment and understanding of the complex nature of policy.
• Conduct a study of the impact of a balanced federal budget. Should the US government be legally/constitutionally required to balance the budget each year? Economists on both sides use macroeconomics to argue their positions. Given the current unbalanced budget and growing debt, what would the US government cut and why to balance the budget?
• Revamp the way congress and the executive branch develop and sustain policies and programs. Ensure the policies and programs clearly identify:
  • Goals and objectives, with quantitative metrics to assess progress. Identify Measures of Performance and Measures of Effectiveness
  • Stakeholders—not just the targeted ones, but the ones that pay for the policies and programs as well. How will the policy or program affect them?
  • Impact on budget. Will the policy or program sustain itself with no new taxes or fees? If not, specify bill payer policies and programs to make the new one revenue and cost neutral.
  • Specify end state conditions and when the policy or program will end and how.
  • Contract out the program execution to avoid growing federal employment and make it easier to terminate the program if it fails or if has meet the termination criteria.

There are optimal points in all of these areas. The optimal point may take some trial error to find and they can shift as conditions change. But like a master smith that keeps the forge burning at the optimal temperature we need to keep our political discourse and the optimal temperature to forge solutions.

The key requirement is statesman that seek to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. The problem is, how many politicians, on both sides of the aisle take that charge in the Constitution seriously? How many Americans understand and practice the art of virtue? Does education teach virtue? And by virtue, I do not mean sexual abstinence, I mean a way civil discourse and action. While 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation may seem antiquated, there is potentially wisdom there.

Can you have effective discourse and dialog without virtue and civility?