justice concerns. For instance, following group values and relational models of justice (Lind and Tyler
1988; Tyler and Lind 1992), she hypothesizes that “people are influenced more by socio-emotional
outcomes like standing, status, and respect as the relative salience of their social identity concerns
increases” (Skitka 2003, 290). In addition, “ . . . when people’s material interests are threatened, they will
first look for violations of the equity norm, and when their social status or standing is threatened, they
will first look for evidence of procedural impropriety (e.g., a biased judge) or violations of group norms”
(Skitka 2003, 292). Thus, people define themselves socially, sociotropic concerns are at least as important
as egocentric goals, and group identities, norms, and values are therefore important when people assess
the fairness of outcomes.
In sum, extant research has shown that citizens typically evaluate justice claims using
multidimensional frameworks. In order to understand the politics of such claims, one must be able to
assess which justice domains are dominant, whether group identity concerns are activated, and how
conflicts among justice considerations are adjudicated. I turn next to applying these conclusions about
justice to the issue of homelessness and squatting.
The Problem of Squatting and Its Relationship to Commonsense Justice
As in many countries throughout the world, the issue of land squatters in South Africa is politically
significant and contentious (e.g., Huchzermeyer 2004). Squatting is caused by two dominant factors: (1)
The massive influx of landless people from the countryside to the cities; and (2) the vast economic
inequality in the country. The demand for urban housing is immense, as poor South Africans stream to the
cities in search of jobs and economic opportunity.
At the same time, the inequality in the country is so
great that vast quantities of land are held by small numbers of people. Thus, the land issue is a classic
example of the have-nots versus the haves.
But land is more than just an issue of economic inequality. Instead, overlaid on the inequality is
the history of the injustice of colonialism and apartheid. The landless make claims to land not just out of
0Squatting is not just an urban problem. More than 40,000 squatters are currently occupying the
Modderklip farm, owned by a white South African, and the authorities will neither evict the squatters nor
pay compensation to the land owner. The case continues in litigation. See for example Fife 2004.
Convention