Social Justice, a Key Concept in the Social Movements of the Last Hundred Years in Iran

Social Justice is a very important and widely used concept in the political and social history of many nations. As well as many countries, it has had a significant role at least in mobilizing people for social movements and in protesting against the existing political system in Iran.

In analyzing the causes of many social and political processes and also the Constitutional and Islamic Revolutions in Iran, the realization of social justice is cited as one of the major and prominent indicators. It can be found in different kinds of resources and documents such as poems, speeches, political debates, rhetoric of social groups and so forth. Therefore a form of emphasis on the concept of social justice has existed in every single social movement in Iran based on its special arrangements and aspects which were shaped socially and politically.

This study aims to narrate the history of social justice in the social movements of the last hundred years in Iran to provide a better understanding of it during this very important period of time and to theorize this concept and its changes over this timeframe.

By making use of documentary method and interviewing some sociologists and social activists, a classification of usages of this concept and their differences, in the history of social movements in Iran, is presented.