Democracy and Participation

Abstract

What is the relation of democracy and participation to social justice? While the distributive theory offers an account of social justice at the level of abstracted principle, others focus their attention on specific conditions and practices that allow social injustice to emerge as a condition of social arrangements. Work by the philosopher Iris Marion Young offers a critical account of social justice, particularly in relation to concepts such as difference and oppression, and how these are implicated in social injustices such as exclusion, marginalisation and silencing. There are a number of key aspects related to issues of democracy and participation that could support social work efforts at empowerment, self-determination and inclusion. These are the nation-state and civil society, constitutionalism, freedom and liberty and the options for dealing with diversity within societies.