Abstract

This article examines the official concept of social justice, as advanced by the Coalition government in the UK between 2010 and 2015. The article begins with a discussion of some traditional comprehensions of social justice and summarises its recent use by political parties prior to 2010. A short section on methodology precedes a sketching out of five interconnected themes of: dehistoricised; localisation and individualisation; residualisation; work; and innovation and commodification. The article concludes with a brief summary of the official understanding of social justice and a look forward to its future use by the government.