Conflict, Interdependence, and Justice

Abstract

Morton Deutsch (Social Justice Research, 19, 7–41, 2006) identifies "awakening a sense of injustice" as a necessary precursor of social change. Building on Deutsch's theorizing, we propose that system justification, the motivation to defend and justify existing social, economic, and political institutions, and to derogate or dismiss alternatives to the status quo (Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, Political Psychology, 25, 881–920, 2004), operates as an obstacle to awakening the sense of injustice. In this chapter, we summarize recent research findings illustrating the soporific effects of system justification motivation, that is, the ways in which it inhibits the awakening of a sense of injustice. Furthermore, we observe that social change is most likely to be embraced when it is system-sanctioned and therefore imbued with the legitimacy of the overarching social system. Although disruptive social protest may sometimes be necessary, broad system-level changes may be more readily accomplished through interventions and appeals that do not directly challenge the status quo, but instead garner psychological support through their association with the current system.