Wealth and Want
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Paradigm Shift

Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in the late 1960. It gave us a new framework and language for considering major shifts of consciousness. "Seeing the cat" can lead to a shift that leads one to question commonly-held imprecise ideas of what is just and what is not.

Nic Tideman:  Global Economic Justice, followed by Creating Global Economic Justice
The Functions of a Theory of Justice
What is the use of a theory of justice? A theory is an abstraction. By itself, it can't make anything happen. But when a theory of justice takes root in us, it modulates our emotional responses to distributive outcomes. If you should come to realize that the theory of justice to which you subscribe says that something you thought you wanted to do is unjust, you will find that course of action no longer so appealing. If you come to a new realization that justice is on your side, you are likely to feel emboldened and ready to persist despite obstructions.

If you should come to the realization that justice requires of you a course of action that you had not planned on, you will feel a pull in that direction, and if you do not follow through, you are likely to feel guilty. If your theory of justice informs you that another person is treated unjustly, even a stranger, you are likely to feel compassion for that person, and you may also feel a chivalrous impulse to take up that person's cause and seek redress of the injustice. It was because of feelings of injustice that slavery was abolished and women were granted the right to vote.

As the world shrinks, nations impinge upon one another in more and more ways, providing applications for a theory of justice among nations. ...Read the whole article


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... because democracy alone hasn't yet led to a society in which all can prosper