Well done, Mr. Prager! Excellent article.
Prager's incisive attack on "social justice" is well-considered and much-needed. Better termed "social equality", "social justice" activists demand an equal society masquerading as a just society, all changes from the outside in, completely antithetical to nature itself, which creates and celebrates difference.
Another excellent point: "I was taught the biggest moral challenge in my life was . . .me." Our checks and balances system of government in the United States recognizes the innate "yetzer hara", not just to do wrong, but to seek one's own at the expense of others. Rather than dismissing the cold reality of inner evil, which to this day consciously ignored by liberals stuck on "yetser hatov", the Framers channeled this drive to limit government and protect the rights of states and citizens.
"Judaism believes that the road to a just society is paved by individual character development." I could not agree more, although I would extend my critique to disputing the very concept of "society". Just like free markets function best within the guidance of Adam Smith's metaphorical "Invisible Hand", the needs of a diverse community are best served when each individual aligns his being and well-being with a set of accorded instructions--the literal translation of "Torah". As everyone seeks his own interests in agreement with agreed-upon rules, everyone benefits, without any extended consideration of "society".
Without challenging oneself to live up to the holy standards of the Torah, human beings wallow in moral equivalence, which exaggerates inequality. No worse example could be offered than the widespread decimation of millions of the Communist ideology, all in the name of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
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