Existing social arrangements get justified simply because they exist

Evidence

System-justification refers to the psychological process whereby prevailing conditions, be they social, political, economic, sexual, or legal, are accepted, explained, and justified simply because they exist. As Mason (1971) writes, the disadvantaged come to “believe that the system is part of the order of nature and that things will always be like this” (p. 11). We argue that stereotypes often are used to serve this ideological function. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2915

Once a set of events produces certain social arrangements, whether by historical accident or human intention, the resulting arrangements tend to be explained and justified simply because they exist. Stereotyping, as it operates in such contexts, appears to be a psychological vehicle for system-justification. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2914

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines system-justification as the process by which existing conditions are rationalized merely for existing.
• XREF: Connects to Bourdieu’s habitus and Gramsci’s hegemony — parallel mechanisms of internalized acceptance of existing order.
• SEED: Angles for an essay on how ‘is equals ought’ works psychologically — why mere existence of a social arrangement confers legitimacy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2915; John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2914