There is no justice in social justice, and there is no equality

Hear the words of Brad Thor, novelist and commentator, whose voice strikes with the sharpness of a sword: “There is no justice in social justice, and there is no equality in social equality.” This saying is a provocation, a challenge hurled into the great debates of our time. In it he warns that noble-sounding phrases may conceal dangers, and that words repeated too often can lose their true meaning. He calls us to examine carefully the banners under which men march, lest they be deceived by illusions wrapped in the language of virtue.

The meaning of his words is rooted in skepticism. Justice, in its pure form, is blind—it treats all according to truth and law, without favor or prejudice. Yet when the term social justice is invoked, Thor suggests, it often ceases to be impartial and becomes instead a tool for enforcing ideology, granting privilege to some at the expense of others. Likewise, equality, in its original sense, means equal dignity, equal opportunity, equal rights before the law. But when men speak of social equality, Thor implies, they often mean enforced sameness, the leveling of differences, and the suppression of excellence in the name of uniformity. Thus, he declares that what is paraded as just and equal may in practice betray the very principles it claims to uphold.

The origin of this critique lies deep in the history of revolutions and reforms. Again and again, noble ideals have been proclaimed with thunder, only to give way to tyranny or corruption. Consider the French Revolution. It began with cries of “liberty, equality, fraternity.” Yet in the zeal to enforce social equality, the guillotine became the judge, and fear the enforcer. Justice was no longer impartial; it was directed by mobs and committees. Equality was no longer about dignity; it became the forced flattening of society, which ended in blood. Thor’s words echo this ancient warning: that ideals, when twisted into instruments of power, can destroy the very values they claim to serve.

History offers also the tale of the Soviet Union, which sought to enforce equality by erasing classes and binding all in the same yoke. Yet what arose was not equality but oppression: a ruling elite, the Party, enjoying privileges denied to ordinary people. The language of social justice filled the air, but prisons filled with dissenters. Factories produced quotas, but freedom was extinguished. Once again, there was “no justice in social justice, no equality in social equality.” The dream of fairness, when corrupted, became a nightmare.

Yet Thor’s words, though sharp, are not a call to abandon justice or equality. Rather, they are a call to guard their true meaning. Justice must be rooted in fairness before the law, not in the shifting winds of ideology. Equality must honor the dignity of all while allowing differences of talent, choice, and destiny to flourish. To conflate these virtues with social engineering is to endanger them, for forced virtue becomes vice, and coerced fairness becomes tyranny.

The lesson is clear: do not be seduced by phrases that sound noble but conceal agendas. Seek justice that is impartial, blind to status, wealth, or identity. Seek equality that preserves freedom, opportunity, and dignity, not the crushing sameness of enforced conformity. When you hear leaders proclaim “social justice” or “social equality,” weigh their deeds, not their words. Ask whether they are protecting rights or redistributing power; ask whether they are lifting the weak or binding all in chains.

So, children of tomorrow, walk with discernment. Honor justice in its purity, equality in its truth. Do not confuse slogans with virtue. And remember the warning of Thor: when words are twisted, their meanings are lost. Fight not for empty phrases, but for the eternal principles they were meant to represent. Only then will justice be just, and equality be equal, and freedom endure across the generations.