What Will President Barack Obama Do for Social Justice in the U.S.?

To explore the social justice views of any political candidate, including Barack Obama, the obvious best approach is to read their statements in-depth.

But before that, there is a good initial test: Which issues does a candidate consider "social justice" in the first place? This list will reveal a great deal, even before a voter delves into details.

Conservatives will light the front burner with social justice concerns such as religious faith, abortion, and gay marriage. Progressives or liberals such as Obama are more likely to also include issues such as health care and poverty, based on a theme that social justice requires economic justice.

Some voters of both the conservative and progressive stripe will hear the term "social justice" and immediately think of ethnic racial issues. Obama indeed will speak openly of his African American bloodlines, but he strives for the balance of not dwelling on them.

The conservative versions of social justice issues sometimes place Obama in a tough spot. He supports abortion rights but opposes gay marriage, which causes tough sledding among both conservatives and liberals. He candidly states that he did not come into full religious faith until his adult life and he has credited the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whom now is costing Obama a good number of votes even though the candidate has renounced the minister.

Barack Obama scores far more points, however, when pollsters ask voters their views in terms of economic social justice. He calls for shifting more tax burden back to corporations and the wealthy, reversing various huge reductions for the upper echelon under Ronald Reagan and then George W. Bush. He hopes to raise the minimum wage and/or the earned income tax credit. He vows to find a path toward universal health care, reversing a 60-year string of failures that started with Harry Truman. He aims to invest more in education and alternative energy. During a time of widespread economic hardship, these points are popular with the citizenry.