Definition of social issue – What it is, Meaning and Concept

The first thing we are going to do is know the etymological origin of the two words that make up the term social question:
– Question, first of all, it derives from Latin. Specifically, it comes from “quaestio”, which can be translated as “inquiry”, “examination” or “inquiry”.
-Social, secondly, it comes from the Latin “socialis”, which can be translated as “belonging to a community of people”.

The term question it has several uses. On this occasion we are interested in its meaning as a matter, a theme or a matter. Social, for its part, is what is linked to society: a community of individuals who live in a territory and have common interests.

The idea of Social issue is often used with reference to effects of certain processes or at consequences of the application of a certain economic model, which must be taken care of by the rulers since affect quality of life of the population.

The concept began to develop in the XIX century, behind the Industrial Revolution. The classical liberalism it attributed to each individual the responsibility of the satisfaction of their material needs. However, the liberal economic system of the time proved incapable of providing solutions to the problems of the working class. In this framework, the notion of social question arose, encompassing those difficulties in people’s lives that the authorities could not ignore or neglect.

Many sectors, therefore, began to demand the Condition to attend to the social question. The staunchest defenders of liberalism, however, opposed laws and measures that provided protection or support to vulnerable sectors.

Specifically, there were a series of circumstances within what was the working class that led to the beginning of talking about the labor social question. This term encompasses all the circumstances that made it difficult for these people to work and that worsened their quality of life. Circumstances that, therefore, needed to be taken into account and resolved by political leaders.

In this sense, we can state that these were facts such as that wages were insufficient, there was no labor legislation to regulate work, there were children working and in places as complicated and dangerous as mines …

The bid for attention to the social issue is still in force today. If a government promotes a cut in state spending and enacts laws that favor job insecurity so that employers can reduce production costs, the opposition will surely be required to address the social issue linked to increased unemployment, falling wages and other problematic.

In addition to all the above, we cannot ignore the fact that there is also talk of a social question within the sphere of religion. In this case, it is used to refer to the fact that within the Catholic Church it is considered that the material progress that takes place in society brings with it, at the same time, a constant and clear fall of what are the ethical and social principles.