Explain the modern liberal view of social justice (10 marks)

Although only 10 marks, it can be notoriously difficult to achieve a high mark in these types of questions. Including a grounded definition with sufficient evidence is one part, however linking the question to key ideological thinkers whilst giving some modern-day context is essential to scoring high marks. Below is an example of how I would tackle this question.
Modern liberalism emerged in the late 19^th century, evolving from classic liberalism to answer key questions that were arising in society. Although individual freedom was important in liberalism, and still is to this day, an emphasis on social justice and equality arose. Poorer sections of society needed to be catered fro in order for them to achieve individual freedoms themselves, and this could only be done with aspects of social justice - policies and measures designed to ensure a fairer distribution of life chances within society.Arguably, social justice can be linked more closely to socialism than to liberalism, as it largely requires an active intervention from the state. However the need for some state intervention can be classed as a modern liberal one – William Beveridge for example, a key orchestrator of the welfare state in Britain in the mid-20^th century, was an active liberal. Modern liberals like Beveridge argue that deprivation and poverty in society can be just as limiting as intervening government laws, and therefore social justice is a necessary factor in securing the vital individual freedoms that all forms of liberalism hold as a core value. The key modern liberal thinker John Rawls outlined the liberal view that shares the concept of social justice with socialism. Some income should be distributed from the rich to the poor, if that allows the poorer members of society to achieve greater personal freedom than their circumstances allow. Rawls, along with many modern liberals, took the view that some inequalities, like depriving poverty, cannot be overlooked or tolerated, and that in these circumstances the state is justified in intervening; social justice is therefore a view that many modern liberals actively support and pursue. This would not be a concept that a classical, more right-wing liberal would follow, with the belief that the state should be limited to its minimum and should not intervene with an individual’s choice on how to live their life.