Encyclopedia of African Religion

The principle of social justice compels humans
to behave so that each works in defense of all and
all work in defense of each. Thus, social justice
ensures collective unity and social stability so as to
avoid destructive conflicts that may be generated
by the dynamics of individual–community duality
in a manner that can undermine the foundations of
the society. This principle of social justice formed
the foundational construct of Maat, the moral
ideal in ancient Egypt, as revealed by theBook of
the Coming Forth by Dayand its administration.
This principle of justice is also the foundation of
African land tenure system, where land distribu-
tion is democratized; land is collectively owned
and held while the individual temporally owns a
piece of the land according to need and use.
Freedom and justice are inseparable in nature;
moral rules and legal parameters must be derived
from natural rights in such a way that natural free-
dom supersedes social justice, whereas social jus-
tice is a guide to social freedom and collective
security. Freedom and justice as one combined
principle define a framework where social respon-
sibility, duty, and benefits are shared equitably by
individuals and society in terms of ability, strength,
and need. Thus, this construction of the combined
principles constitutes human activity in the admin-
istration of social production and distribution. It is
this principle of justice-freedom that gives rise to
social oaths of allegiance and the rites of passage.
Justice is not simply giving each person what is
due or setting right what is wrong; this is its mean-
ing in the Eurocentric conceptual system, which
leads to the projection of law and order over freedom

and justice. Social justice is about stability and

unity of the social organism composed of individ-

uals with differences in nature, whereas freedom

ensures the human essence as an indestructible

element in the creative process incorporating what

is due to the individual and what is due to society

as a function of the dynamics of individual–

community duality. In the adjustment process of

the dynamics of individual–community duality,

justice is simply the mediator of individual–

community relationship.

Kofi Kissi Dompere

SeealsoBook of the Coming Forth by Day (The Book

of the Dead); Maat

Further Readings

Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa:The Quest

for Eternal Harmony. London: Routledge.

Ashby, M. A. (2001).The African Origins of

Civilization:African Origins of Western Civilization,

Religion and Philosophy. Miami, FL: Crutan Mystic

Books.

Danquah, J. B. (1986).The Akan Doctrine of God:A

Fragment of Gold Coast Ethics and Religion.

London: Frank Case.

Dompere, K. K. (2006).Polyrhythmicity:Foundations of

African Philosophy. London: Adonis and Abbey.

Gyekye, K. (1987). An Essay on African Philosophical

Thought:The Akan Conceptual Scheme. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Karenga, M. (2006).Maat:The Moral Ideal in Ancient

Egypt. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.

Justice 357