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Essay / The Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen Summary - 1353
Throughout his book, he illustrated the need to incorporate many perspectives when attempting to define what is just. This ties in with George DeMartino’s idea in “The Economist’s Oath” that society benefits from diversity of thought. He said a variety of opinions are important when considering an issue, especially more complex issues. He warned against groupthink (DeMartino, 2011). Sen also discourages groupthink, as seen in current thoughts on justice based on transcendentalism and the idea of defining utopian institutions of justice (Sen, 2009). Sen and DeMartino reflect what may be a trend of thinking triggered by increased globalization; a revised renaissance perspective of recognizing the many voices of different cultures and beliefs as global communication and connectivity has become easier. “Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education” by Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode examined social justice concerns and the benefits of multicultural education. They discussed the shift in thinking toward adopting this teaching style over the past twenty years (Nieto and Bode, 2011). The works of Sen, DeMartino, Nieto, and Bode reflect increased diversity. The singular way of looking at an issue as right or wrong, ethical or unethical, fair or unfair is replaced by a multidimensional way of representing a yes or no.