Social Justice Issues

[Greta]

Could someone please give me some guidance on this following question?

Which of the following concepts are evident in the following statement: [You should select two (2) answers for this question]

'Dole bludgers deserve to be unemployed.'

[Note: the term 'dole bludgers' is a derogatory way to refer to unemployed people receiving Centrelink payments. Some assume and generalise that these unemployed recipients do not search for jobs and are undeserving of 'free' money from the Australian government.]

a) lottery of birth
b) common sense knowledge
c) meritocracy
d) victim blaming
e) all of the above

What I have so far: I can definitely exclude a) lottery of birth as well as e) all of the above because there are in fact two answers to the question. I am unsure with the remaining three answers. Common sense knowledge emerges from a majority of people holding the same values and ideas about a specific topic. However these thoughts may not be proven to be correct, accordingly they are common beliefs which are undefined, not necessarily true.
Meritocracy is the idea that what you get in life, you get only because you earn and deserve it. This belief denies the inequality that exists within society.
When the whole responsibility is placed upon the individual without acknowledging the effects of inequality this is referred o as victim blaming.
I tend to b)common sense knowledge and d)victim blaming. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Rod]

d) Victim blaming is the easy one.

b) or c)?? Your analysis says common sense is not always true. As a concept then you should not logically rely on this to always be true. Meritocracy - you get what you deserve on the other hand seems to fit better.

Which of these is the better concept evident in the statement (b or c)? Seems like c) Meritocracy to me.

 

[Greta]

When looking at the statement again, meritocracy may apply and really seems to fit better. The statement could be inferring that unemployment is not due to social inequality and that those who are unemployed are lazy and not necessarily affected by their circumstances in life.
Thank you very much for your help Rod! I appreciate your quick answer

 

[Martis]

Omg yesss social justice issues are like… the BIG convo of our era 😭✊🌏 From equity stuff to access, representation, rights, all the systemic messiness — it’s a LOT, but soooo important to keep talkin’ about. Fr, half the battle is ppl actually bein’ willing to learn + listen instead of pretendin’ the probs don’t exist lol.

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They’ve got heaps of uni + research + admin + support roles that tie into social justice, public policy, education equity, and all that meaningful-change kinda work. Lowkey a treasure trove for anyone tryna actually DO something with their passion instead of just doomscrollin’ 😅🚀

Love that you brought this up — more convos like this pls 🙌💛