Social Justice is not a topic that has historically been much talked about in Conservative circles. It is not just the terminology either; a right-wing view of economics is that reducing taxes and government interference coupled with increasing opportunities will of itself make the poor richer. So it might, over the long term. However, some countries much closer to this way of doing things than the UK, such as the United States, have significant long-term deprivation and gross inequalities of wealth.
David Cameron is pushing the poverty agenda already set moving by Iain Duncan-Smith. He is also talking about Social Justice. This is surely the right thing to do; no party that seeks to improve the quality of life of the British people can just write off the poorest. More pragmatically, poverty is the incubator of a raft of social problems, from addictions to abuse to crime, which eventually affect everyone. Then there is the language and the way it affects the image of the Conservative party. Caring about the poor makes the party seem, well, caring. That is a welcome change. There aren’t too many votes in appearing not to give a damn.
Social Justice Challenge
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