Economic Justice Through Mutual Risk-Sharing

Zera Yacob understood that economic justice requires structures where the strong protect the weak—not through charity, but through rational self-interest and mutual obligation. Insurance embodies this principle: healthy people pool resources with sick people, wealthy with vulnerable, because all face uncertain futures. This sophos would recognize insurance as a justice mechanism when it genuinely spreads risk fairly rather than extracting profit from desperation. The practice fails when insurers deny coverage to those most in need, when premiums consume disproportionate income for the poor, or when claims are systematically rejected. Economic justice in insurance means accessible premiums, claims paid promptly and fairly, and the recognition that insurance exists to serve human dignity, not shareholder returns. This reframes insurance from a commercial transaction into a social covenant reflecting our interdependence.