A Christian Theory of Justice

Philosophical discussions of justice have abounded in the decades since the publication of John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1971). Recent theological literature on justice is more sparse. In that respect, Elke Mack’s A Christian Theory of Justice is noteworthy for developing a concept of justice grounded in theological ethics. Yet it is not addressed only to a theological audience. It is pluralistically informed and attentive to recent philosophical and social thought on justice.

Justice, Mack declares, is an ethical leitmotiv. In the past, it has been understood as resting on specific metaphysical commitments, and she believes this is no longer viable. Instead, she contends that justice should be seen as subject to  empirical assessment. That assessment is focused on the satisfaction of needs and capabilities of persons by means of “an analysis of the objective situations and concrete activity of human beings” (59–60). This involves cross-cultural, anthropological investigations of injustice that, Mack contends, can provide a kind of negative grounding for a positive understanding of justice.  

The author develops her theory with reference to some of the traditional elements of Roman Catholic reflection on justice. For example, she draws on natural law and on themes such as subsidiarity, solidarity, and participation. Her treatment of these elements takes place in continuing dialogue with various strands of contemporary philosophical reflections on justice. In particular, Mack looks to discourse ethics and contractarianism to shape her concept of justice as consensually based, anti-patriarchal, and respectful of individual autonomy.

Mack’s approach is based on a personalist, dignity-centric concept of justice, and indeed of morality altogether. She writes: “The nature of the human being equates to the dignity of the human being, along with the fundamental rights and entitlements derived from this” (45). Justice should be concerned not with material norms but “person-oriented universal normativity.” Mack’s personalism implicates an expanded realm of dialogue, participation, and consensus above and beyond existing political structures and institutions. She adopts a decidedly cosmopolitan stance that contests the preeminence of nation states as international actors. This follows from a focus on the needs and capabilities of the poorest, which are central to the concept of justice as Mack conceives it, since basic needs transcend political boundaries.

Mack advances the claim that religiously informed reflection can provide epistemological reinforcement of secular understandings of justice. This reinforcement is accomplished through a series of methodological reorientations: in hermeneutics, normativity and perspective. Hermeneutically, it redirects the central focus of justice to the human person and human needs. This entails a universal norm of justice, but Mack insists that it is not be abstract and remote from the life world of individuals. Normatively, the ethical justification of justice becomes grounded in consensual and democratic methods of developing norms. This is paralleled by a perspectival reorientation embraces a non-paternalistic and inclusive point of view with a preference for the protection of human persons and concern for the disadvantaged.

To support these reorientations, Mack submits that Christian ethics must reorder aspects of its own approaches to justice. Methodologically, it must bid farewell to metaphysically grounded deductions from material principles in favor of democratically oriented inclusiveness based on consensus and concerned with global justice. Normatively, it should develop a theological hermeneutics of normativity capable of yielding norms of universal application. That, in turn, creates a basis for a pluralistic ethics of justice, with core values of dignity, empathy, and concern for the vulnerable.

Mack contends that, taken together, these moves enhance the universal plausibility of a theory of justice while avoiding the relativizing effect of postmodernism. They express basic theological commitments such as the divine concern for human beings, the centrality of the person, and the universal need for protection. Although these themes are fundamental to the author’s conception of a Christian idea of justice, the chapter devoted to them comes at the end of the book, and it is the shortest chapter. 

The author presents an impressive and compelling vision of justice infused with a spirit of egalitarian solidarity. Her description of the needs of a large segment of humanity conveys a picture of the world deeply afflicted by human deprivation. She proposes responses to this situation directed to the improvement of material conditions for existence beyond subsistence to a threshold level of adequacy. While one wonders about the prospects for implementation of such vision, Mack rightly argues that feasibility should not be an ethically determinative criterion.

Mack’s contention that religious perspectives can and should contribute to public discourse about justice is an important part of her overall argument. She speaks of a Christian ethics of justice as serving as a “qualitative supplement” and playing a “supportive role” to secular theories. While her engagement with those theories and desire to participate in their development is admirable, one is curious about how her philosophical counterparts will view the interaction she proposes. 

Regardless of the response she receives, Mack deserves credit for her engagement with an array of philosophers, including many in the Anglophone sphere. In contrast, the theological and ethical literature she discusses is largely that of contemporary continental authors. Some analysis of earlier theological notions of justice by figures such as Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, or Reinhold Niebuhr would have illuminated the distinctiveness of the book’s approach and served to position it in relation to other strands of reflection on justice in Christian thought.

Both author and publisher should be commended for publishing an English version of a book that originally appeared in German. This contributes in a valuable way to the cross-cultural exchange of ideas. That said, some of the terminology used (“ethic of right”– Rechtsethik) can be a bit puzzling. The volume also assumes a certain familiarity with contemporary continental theories of justice; some background exposition of them would have been helpful. But these are minor shortcomings in comparison to the benefits of having the book available in English.

A Christian Theory of Justice is a welcome contribution to the contemporary theological and ethical literature on justice. It treats justice within a global context and with particular attention to the needs of the deprived and dispossessed and does so in a way attentive to the methodological and metaethical questions it raises. It merits the attention of theologians, ethicists, and philosophers.

Bradley Shingleton is an independent scholar.

Bradley Shingleton

Date Of Review:

February 25, 2021