Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s welfare, social justice can never be attained.

Keller argues that social justice is not achieved solely through laws, institutions, or the efforts of a moral elite; it requires a broadly shared civic ethic. The “great mass of the people” must feel active responsibility for one another’s well-being—an insistence that justice is collective and relational rather than merely individual. The statement implies that reforms imposed from above will remain fragile if ordinary citizens continue to treat poverty, disability, exploitation, or exclusion as someone else’s problem. Keller’s emphasis on mutual welfare aligns with her long-standing critique of indifference and her belief that compassion must be translated into social and economic arrangements that protect the vulnerable.