Economics, Justice and Another Blog

After a year of COVID, protests for racial equity, and violent insurrections I feel compelled to write my thoughts about the intersection of justice, economics, ethics, and power. I am a student of theology, social science, economic justice, and ethics, but for this blog, I will also apply my life experience as the son of a working-class father and mother, and a 30 year veteran in the community development sector. I do not consider myself a high-brow academic thinker; rather, I’m a practitioner in community development work, residing and working in distressed communities grappling with complex issues such as post-industrial economic stagnation. This gives me first-hand experience living in the tension.

Before you start reading, I would like to acknowledge the following (obvious) fact: not everyone agrees with me, I am not a master of all knowledge, and I welcome corrections and constructive debate. I will be writing in a somewhat stream of consciousness in the hopes that you will see my heart, and I hope it will provoke you to think, pray, and dialogue. The context of my musings will be the work we do at Able Works, helping youth and young adults throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley of California obtain the assets, skills, and education for self-determination and economic freedom.

I hesitate to announce a new blog. It's been done before. Yet I have been inspired by the many authors, particularly the ones who hail from marginalized communities, who have contributed to justice discussion over several decades. In reading, studying, and learning from justice-oriented academics, theologians, organizers, authors, professors... I have found a lot of inspiration in how justice is defined and articulated by them, yet no one source can adequately cover justice. Perhaps this middle-aged white man will have something to offer to the conversation.

In the end, my life has been about catalyzing justice in power-deprived communities like the hillsides of Tijuana, the fields of the Central Valley, and the streets of the Bay. In the end, justice is multi-faceted. Though justice may be served when the scales are balanced, justice is about fairness, equity, impartiality, righteousness. Justice means that everyone has an equal opportunity to live a good life. Justice means that people should treat each other as they would like to be treated themselves. Justice is about faithfulness. justice is not an abstract concept; justice happens every day by people of all cultures, races, genders, classes, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, educational levels throughout the world. Justice is not a commodity. Justice is everyone's responsibility. Justice can only happen through relationships that value restoring brokenness and harm done. Justice requires humility. Justice requires love. Justice shall overcome!