ABSTRACT
Evaluation for social justice is complex because of the high expectations, subjective nature, and diffuse meanings of words such as justice, fairness, equity, and equality. The concepts operate in the same ethical sphere, but there is a distinction; while equality appears to refer to a fixed distribution of resources in a population, the concept of equity introduces potential criteria for a distribution that builds on considerations other than the "same for all" distribution. Theory of justice is certainly different from many contemporary patterns of moral reasoning, but it does give a firm basis to develop operational normative approaches in evaluation. A thorough discussion of equity should assist evaluation to find a real normative base that is transparent, practically applicable, broadly legitimate, and well founded in philosophy and ethics. Waldo D. once put public administration is the marriage of the arts and sciences of governance to the arts and sciences of management.
