Social Class Perspectives on Social Justice and Redistribution. Insights from Contemporary Romania

This study investigates attitudes and values related to social justice, trust, and redistribution from a social class perspective, in Romania. Employing a telephone representative survey of 3666 respondents, with data gathered in December 2021, this research describes how individuals’ perspectives on various facets of social justice differ based on social class. These facets include the equality of access to wealth and income, the meritocratic principle linking remuneration with work volume, the principle of unconditional assistance to those in need, and the perception of education’s importance in forming social and job-related skills. First, from a methodological perspective, the results reveal a social class schema predicted on a set of objective socio-demographic criteria such as occupation and education, merged with subjective parameters linked to individuals’ self-perceptions of their living standards. This class schema reveals gender and age divides, with women overrepresented in aged lower classes. Second, the study provides insights into reasons behind variations in attitudes and ideological stances through the categories of the developed social class schema. Key findings reveal class-based responses to what a just society means, with significant differences between those in more privileged positions and those in less privileged positions. Despite these disparities, there appears to be a widespread societal consensus attributing the existence of poverty to individual factors such as people not working enough. These results underscore the nuanced interplay between social class, perceptions of social justice, and societal values in contemporary Romania. Keywords: Social class schema, social justice, societal values