Rethinking Social Justice: Institutions, Power, and the Politics of Everyday Inequality

Abstract

Distribution of resources, rights and opportunities are frequently used to measure social justice. This is still needed but isn't enough to understand how inequalities are created, legitimated and reproduced in institutional arrangements and in everyday practices. In this article, a critical integrative review of the literature on social justice, institutions, power and everyday inequality is presented. It is largely based on literature from 2015-2025, with some fundamental theoretical literature included where appropriate. This review brings together the distributive, procedural, recognition-based, capability, relational and structural conceptions of justice. It then explores the resource allocation, population categorisation, knowledge authorisation and discretionary practices of institutions in administrative, educational, employment, housing and digital contexts. This analysis reveals that power is exercised through decision making, agenda setting, structuring of dependence, and through ideological stories, symbolic classification, and differential credibility. The mechanisms are socially activated through a process of routine encounters that produce access, dignity, surveillance and political trust. The article creates an institutional-relational framework that posits historical inequalities shape the design of institutions, the rules of institutions create inequalities in experience, and repeated experiences cement the classifications that produced them. Resistance and counter-knowledge can break this cycle by changing decision mechanisms and devolve authority. The review concludes that social justice is not about an improvement of distributive outcomes. It also involves procedures that are accessible, equal recognition, substantive capabilities, epistemic inclusion and meaningful power to challenge institutions that govern social life.