From Wikipedia
Social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality and involves a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution. These policies aim to achieve what developmental economists refer to as more equality of opportunity than may currently exist in some societies, and to manufacture equality of outcome in cases where incidental inequalities appear in a procedurally just system.
from CESJ:
Social justice encompasses economic justice. Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.
Distinguishing Justice From Charity
While often confused, justice is distinct from the virtue of charity. Charity, derived from the Latin word caritas, or "divine love," is the soul of justice. Justice supplies the material foundation for charity.
While justice deals with the substance and rules for guiding ordinary, everyday human interactions, charity deals with the spirit of human interactions and with those exceptional cases where strict application of the rules is not appropriate or sufficient. Charity offers expedients during times of hardship. Charity compels us to give to relieve the suffering of a person in need. The highest aim of charity is the same as the highest aim of justice: to elevate each person to where he does not need charity but can become charitable himself.
True charity involves giving without any expectation of return. But it is not a substitute for justice.
There are very important differences in these definitions, and I think that a lot of people are using the first definition, trying for equality of outcome, which is not what we want, that path leads us down the road to socialism.
While listening to podcasts this week from both sides about the “occupy” movements, from what I can glean from the “real” people (not the ones trying to co-opt the movement for their own agendas), these people have very legitimate complaints, mainly against crony capitalism (or “capitalism” as those in the beltway call it). I have no issue with what they are complaining about, but from what I’m hearing their proposal for a fix, more regulation, stinks. I’m not sure what it is that these people think government could do to better regulate the problem, when the problem is caused by government regulation. By this I mean that in regulating wall street the regulators have the power to set the rules, and the power to bend or change those rules for specific companies if they choose. That gives those with the most money power over the rules, so making more rules just gives those with money more power.