Social Inequality In Canada

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In my opinion, contemporary Canadian society has a myriad of inequalities, and I believe that social justice is concerned with bringing justice to these issues. As I have learned throughout this course, the main priority of social justice is bringing equality to an innately unequal society. My view of social justice has changed over the course, prior to being enrolled in this course I believed that social justice was a response to individual issues such as racism, homophobia, and discrimination. However, after this course, I know look at how social inequalities are connected and are linked to the unequal power structures that exist within society. Furthermore, I have acknowledged that social structures and institutions exist to maintain the …show more content…
I practice social justice outside of the university, by raising awareness for certain issues, and participating in movements that I believe can assist in the eradication of social inequalities. However, I am also aware, that a portion of the social justice that I participate in, is often silenced by those in power. For example, I can not participate at a movement on campus if that movement does not get permission from those in charge, but this raises the question, would a movement be allowed if it went against the dominant ideologies held by those in power? The answer to this question, is that often times individuals are silenced from critiquing disagreement towards majority classes (Hamden & Harris, 2011, pg. 63). As I argued in my reading response on March 30th, those in power often use their authority to silence opinions that they do not share (Hamden & Harris, 2011, pg. 63). Therefore, although my perspective of social justice lies in the right to free speech, I am also aware that this free speech cannot always be guaranteed due to the unequal power structures that exist within society, and within universities. However, I am an optimist, and I believe that I can bring justice to unequal power structures, but the first step is denouncing these power structures and the authority they hold. In order to truly live in an equal society, power must be shared equally, and opportunities for power must be granted for all (Fraser, Honneth, Golb, Ingram, Wilke, 2006, pg. 10). We cannot live in an equal society, if power is concentrated among one group, and the rest of society is marginalized and powerless (Miller, 1999, pg. 5). I believe that in order to bring real change and real equality, we must have a complete reframing of the unequal structures and institutions that exist, and power and resources must be
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