From The welfare State to the justice State

Abstract

The present economic crisis is questioning the European model of social State. In countries like Spain the economic reforms are at times actually changing this social model. A constructive answer to this questioning requires stablishing the minimal social conditions the State should assure, what Adela Cortina calls a justice State, as well as some priorities in order to direct public expenses. The Catholic moral tradition helps us find these requirements, in particular David Hollebanch’s theory of justice. Hollenbach, drawing from moral theology, proposes a minimum for social expenses based on the requirements of human rights and a set of priorities based on the option for the poor. However, Hollenbach’s proposal should be updated to answer today’s challenges. In this sense, it is easy to develop his model in order to add too new social elements: the global migrations and the care for creation. This article offers finally a development of Hollenbach’s set of priorities in order to include these two elements. Therefore, this article shows how the tradition of moral theology offers us actual resources and a moral framework to consider Adela Cortina’s demand of developing the welfare State into a justice State.