Sozialethik

Sozialeethik is an interdisciplinary field that deals with normative questions about order and justice in society, addressing how institutions, policies, and practices affect human flourishing. It draws on philosophy, theology, sociology, political theory, and law to articulate criteria for a just social order and to evaluate economic, political, and cultural arrangements.

Historically, Sozialethik has roots in Christian social ethics (Catholic social teaching and Protestant social ethics) and in secular liberal and socialist thought about justice. In German-speaking contexts, it developed as an explicit field in the 20th century, responding to industrialization, welfare state building, and later globalization, technology, and ecological challenges.

Central topics include distributive justice, social rights, and the guarantees of dignity; work, employment, and fair labor practices; the design of welfare states and social policy; corporate responsibility, business ethics, and economic organization; environmental sustainability, climate justice; migration, inclusion, and civic participation; and the relationship between law, morality, and public policy.

Theoretical approaches are diverse: deontological, teleological, virtue-based, and capabilities approaches; discussions of the common good, the social contract, justice as fairness, and human rights; as well as critiques from feminist, postcolonial, and critical theory perspectives. It also engages with religious and secular moral thinking.

The field is taught and researched across philosophy, theology, sociology, and political science in German-speaking universities and beyond, often focusing on ethical criteria for policy, institutions, and collective life. It informs public debate on welfare, work, immigration, sustainability, and democracy.