Ubuntu ways of living: a prerequisite for South African social justice

Abstract

Principles of distributive ethics are tailored to influence policies and governance at a political level.. South Africa, including many other developing economies, have distributive policies that are ineffective due to the maladministration and corruption that surrounds them. In this essay I submit that in the absence of adequate and effective interventions from governmental institutions, mandated to promote social justice for the most disadvantaged, individuals should carry the duty to aid them, and that duty should be guided by communitarian-ethical principles, such as those found in Ubuntu. . I also argue that, as a matter of social justice, the aid from the private individuals should be used to establish trading and commercial business ventures as opposed to charitable giving, with the aim of promoting the interests of the worst-off group, that is, black women of South Africa, and thus promote social justice.