Social Justice and Income Inequality

If we seek to advocate and promote social justice, we will have to address income inequality in reasonable ways.


As UU's, social justice is an important part
     of our faith and practice.

It's at the start
     and near the heart of
          the Second of our Seven Principles:

"Justice, equity and compassion in human relations"

Many of the serious problems
    facing our nation and our world.
         make it a challenge
              to live our principle of
                   justice, equity and compassion.

We feel discouraged and overwhelmed at times.

Many of the problems we face are linked -
    - or as the word we used
         in studying Justice on Earth says it,
             intersectional.

Among those links (or intersections)
    are focal points.

The focal points are intersections
   with multiple connections
      in many directions,
          not unlike a spaghetti bowl interchange
              on a large city's interstate highways.

A major focal point for many problems
       is income inequality.

On a most basic level,
   income inequality is an issue of social justice.

Ours is far from the first time in history
    in which income inequality has been
        a major problem for human societies.

Revolutions have been fought
     as attempts to correct the problem.

A recent example is the time of the robber barons.

In the late 19th Century
    and the period just before the Great Depression,
        so-called leaders of industry used
           ruthless and unscrupulous business practices
               to become fabulously wealthy.

The workers who truly produced their wealth
      were too often left in abject poverty.

Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto
    as an attempt to inspire revolution
         to correct the abuses of capitalism
              by the robber barons.

Please note that I'm speaking of abuses.

Capitalism is not evil in and of itself, imho,
    but the abuse of capitalism
         often leads to profound human suffering.

Vladimir Lenin led the Soviet revolution
    which ultimately failed in social reform
         as it devolved into state capitalism
              and ended hopes for genuine democracy
                   in that great nation.

In earlier times, royalty and nobility were a source
    of serious income inequality,
        from the middle ages to the classical era.

Too often the upper class lived in luxury
    while their subjects starved.

The Game of Thrones provides vivid examples
     of social injustice in a feudal society.

(Queen Cersei, Queen Marie Antoinette)

The American and French Revolutions
     were attempts to establish social justice
          through democracy.

Like all revolutions, both have failed in many ways,
   yet both have succeeded in other ways.

Modern liberal democracy (in the universal sense)
   has provided great opportunities
     for all kinds of people to follow
       their beliefs and hopes and dreams
          in their own lives
             and in the lives of their societies.

At the same time,
   the very freedoms and opportunities
      provided by liberal democracy
         have also allowed for widespread
            exploitation and dishonesty
                especially in economic terms.

In the ancient world,
   income inequality was widespread as well.

Jesus of Nazareth was a social revolutionary,
     and He valued equity and equality
          in all kinds of social relationships.

One of his best known
      parables illustrates His point of view well,
            the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man. 

It's written in Luke 16:19-31 - 
taken from the Holy Bible,
New International Version®, NIV®.
    Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ 
    Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights are reserved worldwide.
    www.zondervan.com

 19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23  In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away,
with Lazarus by his side. 24  So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me
and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things,
while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed,
so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
 30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,
they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Here ends the reading of the Parable.

It would be easy for me to get carried away
     while talking about this Parable.

It's fascinating on many levels,
    but I don't want to get bogged down
        in the mythology appended to it.

The most important thing to remember
    if we consider any of the parables of Jesus
        is that they make one single point.

That one point needs to be the focus.

In this case, that one point
     is reversal of fortune.

As Abraham told the rich man,
'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.'

The idea that the reversal of fortune
    takes place in the afterlife
        or any details of the afterlife in the parable
            are beside the point.

Discussion of the afterlife is part of the mythology
     that I don't want to get bogged down in.

I can't resist saying one thing, though:
   Christian churches have made the mistake
        of trying to base some of their doctrines
            on details of the afterlife in the parable.

I prefer to focus on the single point
     about the reversal of fortune.

Such a reversal is a familiar experience in life.

Sometimes it doesn't seem right or fair,
      especially if we ourselves are the ones
            on the negative side of the reversal,
                    but it's definitely a part of life.

The reversal can happen
     as the result of a revolution.

Sudden, violent revolutions
     don't often result in more equality,
           even when equality was their goal.

The 70th anniversary of the Chinese revolution
     could be a case in point.

Their need to develop a mixed economy,
    with elements of capitalism and socialism
         can provide an object lesson
              for all the world,
                   and so the jury is still out
                       on the overall consequences.

Right now, the world is watching Hong Kong!

As I prepared this sermon,
   events in Hong Kong were moving fast.

Violence was beginning
      with an increasing risk of tragedy.

People in Hong Kong need not feel alone
   with regard to fast moving events
         or even violence.

Events in the U.S. are moving fast as well.

Violence is being threatened.

The end result may not be known for a while
      in either case, China or the U.S.,
              as in most cases.

That is simply the nature of history.

At the same time,
     I believe it's safe to say
          that a revolution is underway already.

The redistribution of income
     will almost certainly be a part of the revolution.

There will be reversals of fortune as well.

This particular revolution has been underway
    for a long time, most of my life, in fact.

In 1969, President Richard Nixon
       proposed a UBI, a Universal Basic Income.

In the present consideration
    of the presidential election of 2020,
        the candidate rated 7th (last time I checked),
             was Andrew Yang.

He has proposed a simple UBI.

He calls it the freedom dividend, 
      $1000 per month to every adult American.

I'm not advocating for Andrew Yang
    or for his freedom dividend,
       but something like a Universal Basic Income
           will probably be a necessity soon
               because of the rapid advance of technology.

Otherwise many societies, including the U.S.,
     will experience rapid increases
          in homelessness, malnutrition,
               and inadequate medical care.

UBI would not solve all of the problems of inequality.

Only widespread personal growth in compassion
     would be adequate to address
           the worst of the problems
                facing our nation and world.

More compassion regarding social justice
       and income inequality
              would mean more awareness
                    of the suffering of people around us
                         along with greater willingness
                              to do what we can about it.

The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
      is calling us all
            to greater compassion
                 for the people around us,
                     especially for those in need.

We who care deeply about social justice
     can advocate for more equity and equality
           in the economy of our societies.

Even more importantly
     we can advocate by word and example
          for more compassion
              in all kinds of human interactions
                   day by day.

Compassion is a powerful spiritual force,
      and it is contagious.

Any one of us and all of us together
    can begin to change our world
        as we begin to think, speak and act
             in harmony with compassion.

Amen
Ameen
Omeyn
So mote it be
Blessed be