Page 47 - ILC Together For a Just World Broşür.indd

Together For A Just World

performance indicators strengthened, the individualization of social risks we-
akened labour’s bargaining power and transformed insecurity into a structu-
ral feature of the global economy.
Governments, international organizations, and many labour institutions today
emphasize the importance of social justice in strong normative terms. Howe-
ver, rhetorical commitment alone cannot produce meaningful transformation
if the structural roots of inequality remain unaddressed. Current policy appro-
aches often focus on mitigating symptoms while avoiding deeper questioning
of the economic choices and power relations that generate inequality. Social
justice cannot advance without confronting the decisions that shape how the
system operates. Unless the structural sources of inequality are made visible,
the gap between the discourse of social justice and social reality will persist.
One of the greatest obstacles to meaningful progress in social justice debates
is the systematic depoliticization of economic issues. Questions such as in-
come distribution, social spending, and labour market regulation -fundamen-
tally rooted in political choices-are frequently framed as technical necessities
or inevitable economic realities. This approach obscures the political nature
of inequality while narrowing democratic debate.
As economic questions are depoliticized, social
discontent increasingly manifests through iscontent increasingly manifests through
d
discontent increasingly manifests through
cultural and identity-based confl icts. This ultural and identity-based confl icts. This
c
cultural and identity-based confl icts. This
d
dynamic shifts attention away from the ynamic shifts attention away from the
dynamic shifts attention away from the
m
material foundations of inequality and aterial foundations of inequality and
material foundations of inequality and
generates new political narratives that enerates new political narratives that
g
generates new political narratives that
o
obscure structural economic causes. So-bscure structural economic causes. So-
obscure structural economic causes. So-
cial justice must therefore be addressed ial justice must therefore be addressed
c
cial justice must therefore be addressed
n
not only through social policy instruments ot only through social policy instruments
not only through social policy instruments
b
but through the re-politicization of eco-ut through the re-politicization of eco-
but through the re-politicization of eco-
nomic decision-making itself. Making omic decision-making itself. Making
n
nomic decision-making itself. Making
structural inequalities visible is tructural inequalities visible is
s
structural inequalities visible is
a precondition for restoring precondition for restoring
a
a precondition for restoring
m
meaning to the concept of eaning to the concept of
meaning to the concept of
social justice.
social justice.
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