Charity versus Justice:
A Macro Look at
Compassion
Bob Wolensky
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Works of Mercy
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To feed the hungry.
To give drink to the thirsty.
To shelter the homeless.
To clothe the naked.
To visit and ransom the captive,
(prisoners).
• To visit the sick.
• To bury the dead.
Charity
• All people of good will are obliged to
show compassion, to help persons in
need
• Jesus’ two greatest commandments: “Do
unto others. . . “ “Love your neighbor. .
.”
• Charity is one way we share our common
humanity, between giver and receiver.
• THEME TODAY: Charity is vitally
important, but insufficient.
The Story of the Social Worker
• Walking along the Mississippi
River near Winona, Minnesota
• Showing Compassion
• Etc.
• The Root of the Problem
Sociology and Social Structure
• Three Levels of Analysis: micro,
meso, macro
• Micro Level—Individual level
• Meso level—Small Group level
• Macro level— Societal/
Cultural/Structural level
Macro level—
Societal/Cultural/Structural level
• Focus on Institutions—especially the two
most important today: Economy &
Government
• Focus on Values—especially individualism,
materialism, consumption, freedom
• Focus on Inequality—Poverty, Wealth, Class
• Focus on Power Relationships—above board
(legislatures) and behind the scenes power
(lobbying)
Charity
• Charity takes place at the micro and meso
levels
• We help individuals (micro example)
• We help families (meso example)
• But why are so many young children being
thrown into the Mississippi?
• And who (or what) is throwing them in?
• If we can stop or lessen them from being
thrown in, we get to the ROOT of the
problem
Sociology and Structural Solutions
• Structural Solutions Address ROOT
causes
• Why so many poor?
• Why so many homeless?
• Why so much inequality?
• Why so much child labor?
• Who so much disease?
• Why so much ignorance?
Social Justice
• Seeks to change institutions, values,
laws, power relationships, ideologies,
etc. which form the root causes of
problems.
• Seeks to reform policies and traditions
that form the root causes of problems.
• Seeks to reorder relationships within
society that form the root causes of
problems.
EXAMPLE: Child Labor in 1912
● ROOT Causes of the Problem:
1. Low Wages for working fathers (economy)
2. Families need child’s income survive (economy)
3. No law prohibiting child labor (government/power)
4. No compulsory education laws (government/power)
5. Children under-valued in society (values)
• Micro Solution: Help an individual child (charity
approach)
• Meso Solution: Help a family (charity approach)
• Macro Solution: Reform laws, raise
taxes, build schools, train teachers,
set standards (institutional changes)
Poverty and Inequality in the U.S.
Inequality in Western Countries
Poorer Poor & Richer Rich, 1975-2007
Income Gains, 1979-2007
Inequality and Social Mobility
The Distribution of Wealth:
An Unjust Social Structure
Summary
• Charity is important & necessary
• Charity is founded, in large part, on
compassion
• However, justice also relates to
compassion
• One can show compassion for others by
seeking structural changes in laws,
policies, values, etc.
• Compassion has a structural dimension
Summary
• There is a need for both charity &justice
• Compassion can be shown at three
levels: Micro, Meso, and Macro
• Individuals can act unjustly—and can
change
• Groups can act unjustly—and can
change
• Social structures can be unjust
(apartheid, Jim Crow Laws)—and can be
changed
Ideally, we would act
compassionately at all three levels:
• Micro—Work to help
individuals
• Meso—Work to help
families, gangs etc.
• Macro—Work to reform
social structures
Thank You!