What is Justice?

What is Justice?

      It is from behind the “veil of ignorance” proclaimed by John Rawls, basically meaning without identity or not knowing who you are, that I must give the general principle/s of “justice” which should be used to govern society.  This philosophical inquiry overlaps into several areas; requiring the examination and thought given to ethics, political philosophy (politics) and possibly even logic.

       Without knowing who I am, my social status, wealth, age or gender I believe I would agree with John Rawls in that I would foremost want to be guaranteed fair treatment and opportunities to succeed in a society.  I also like the way John Stuart Mill defined liberty and I find it to be remarkably similar to the ideas written by Thomas Jefferson in “The Declaration of Independence.”   They both were influenced by John Locke because they insist that there are basic human rights that need to be protected; an idea first put forth by Locke that he called “inalienable personal rights.”   These are rights that all people have.  They are needs that must be met in order to live and maintain a functioning society.  Mill adds a boundary on these rights by stating that they shouldn’t harm another or infringe on the right of others. I also tend to agree with Rawls concept of “justice” because he believes that truly “just” means it must be truly “fair.”  The two are one-in-the-same or intrinsically linked.  Social utility is the core principle of social justice according to Mill.  Social utility is basically like democracy in that it’s a majority rule type system by defining justice as whatever “creates the greatest social benefit for the greatest number of people.”(Chaffee570)  This seems fair at first, until realizing that a majority of people can be disillusioned, deceived, misinformed and uniformed by means of manipulation and propaganda.  That sort of thing could and most certainly has led to unjust action and choices.  Unfortunately this allows for potentially large portions of the population to feel unfairly treated and that justice did not occur. 

       I find Rawls concept of “justice” to be both a sound and valid argument because to be fair is to be just and to be just is to be fair.  I simply cannot find or think of an instance where they are not one in the same.  I do not find Mill’s social utility to be quite as convincing an argument.  There is no proof that the fairest course of action is always the most popular.  Mill did make some very good points about liberty that are valid.  His insightful idea to include free thought and expression undoubtedly laid the foundation for the “Bill of rights” in the American “Constitution.” He also insisted that one has the freedom to exercise these rights as long as they don’t harm anyone else or infringe in any way on another’s rights.  These are both important ideas when considering “justice” in a society.   John Locke’s “inalienable personal rights” concept has validity in that it means that no one person should hold the power of life and death over another.  No one should be denied the ability, opportunity or necessary resources to survive. 

        I would create a just society by governing on the principles of rights and liberty and equality and fairness with each individual having the freedoms to engage in any form of activity they so choose as long as they do not harm or infringe on the rights of others, whether purposefully or otherwise.  These same rules would apply to corporations and governments organizations alike.  Some particular instances where it is necessary due to location and resources for some people to suffer relocation or seizure of property for the greater good should be duly, fairly, timely and completely compensated.  In order to prevent the prediction of Karl Marx we would not use a monetary system.  Monetary systems are inherently flawed and have only proved to promote greed.  Greed compels and tempts individuals to do immoral or unethical practices often leading to the unfair treatment, violation of rights and harm of others. With term limits on policy makers, proficiency tests and equal representation, laws would be fair and just.  In a just society, taxes would be evenly spread out by the use of resources.  Those that use more and consume the most put more strain on the society and system.  Therefore they should be required to pay more especially if those resources are used for profit.  The consequences for violating laws should be fair and swift.  All penalties for violations are the same regardless of any status.  There are no exceptions.        

Works Cited Page

Chaffee, J. (2013). “The Philosopher’s Way: A text with readings”  5^th Ed. 

City University of New York, Pearson