ABSTRACT
In this article the authors discuss the pertinence of considering social justice as a secular ethical imperative, and not as an option legitimized only by left-wing ideologies, a necessary understanding for the preservation of Western democracies. It draws on the delimitation of a problem presented by some researchers, such as Fukuyama and Huntington, denouncing the failure of attempts to associate the development of science with the appropriation of its outcomes by humanity. They defend that social justice is the axis around which the social fabric can be articulated. The text invites the reader to a reflection on the conditions of citizenship affirmation, which presupposes an idea of justice and respect, present in various philosophical or religious conceptions. In the face of a worldwide reality of intolerance intensification, education can play a crucial role in building active citizenship, anchored on the search of social justice capable of resisting the growing tendency to expand the state of exception.
KEYWORDS
Citizenship; Human rights; Public policy; Social justice; Ethics