Searching for The Welfare State: Social Justice Theory and Its Institutional Implementation

我國憲法帶有濃厚的社會主義色彩，以促進民生福祉、實踐社會正義為基本原則，其追求的社會正義是一種實質平等的理念，並不滿足於禁止人為的不合理差別待遇，而是更積極地課予國家消弭或緩和這些不平等為目標。但現實的一面又是如何呢？貧富差距持續擴大、不公稅制、教育資源分配不均…為何社會國的實然面與應然面會有那麼大的落差？如何弭平落差，才能實踐社會正義，實現社會國的理想？

本書以「追尋社會國──社會正義之理論與制度實踐」為主題，邀集十二位不同領域的學者專家，從社會國的憲法規範基礎、社會國在不同弱勢保護領域的落實與檢驗，以及相關公共政策之批判等三大面向，由抽象到具體、理論至實踐，針對社會正義的各種相關問題進行論述，期能對社會正義的實踐提供些許助益。

Our nation’s constitution is imbued with a deep spirit of social justice. Based on the principle of furthering the people’s well-being and implementing social justice, the social justice it seeks is a type of substantive equality. The constitution is not aimed at simply prohibiting unreasonable differential treatment; rather, it seeks to proactively facilitate the elimination or reduction of such inequality in the country.

Yet, how does this noble aim play out in reality? The wealth gap continues to widen, citizens are subject to an unfair tax system, and educational resources are allocated unevenly. Why is there such an enormous divide between the way things are and the way things should be for achieving a welfare state? How do we bridge this gap to bring about social justice and realize the ideal of a welfare state?

The book, Searching for the Welfare State: Social Justice Theory and Its Institutional Implementation, which addresses these issues in depth was published by NTU Press in January. The book’s editor, Tzong-Li Hsu, serves as the president of Taiwan’s Judicial Yuan as well as an adjunct professor at the NTU College of Law. The book includes chapters by 12 public intellectuals with different areas of specialization who approach these issues from a variety of perspectives to address the institutional implementation of social justice in different areas of society.

The book covers three realms of social justice: the constitution and social justice, protecting the disadvantaged and social justice, and public policy and social justice. Moreover, the authors address the issues of social justice from three perspectives: (1) the legal foundation of the constitution of a welfare state, (2) the implementation and maintenance of protections for the disadvantaged in a welfare state, and (3) critiques of current public policy.