TWO VIEWS OF JUSTICE

Ronald J. Glossop

1st Unitarian Church of Alton, Illinois, 4 March 2001

I. Introduction

A. The topic today is "justice," but that concept has different

meanings in different contexts. The basic meaning is "fairness," but even

that term depends on the context.

B. One context focuses on individual persons. What is a just (or fair)

person?

1. A just person is an impartial person, a person who judges

without prejudices.

2. A just person is a person who follows the rules which everyone

is supposed to follow, a person who does not exempt himself or herself from

these general rules.

a. The philosopher Immanuel Kant uses the form of the

Categorical Imperative: Act in such a way that you could will that all

others would follow the same principles.

b. The philosopher David Hume emphasizes the role of property

rules: the just person does not steal from others or take for oneself what

belongs to others.

II. But the concept of "justice" can also be applied to a society. What

is a just or fair society or social system? That will my focus today.

A. Even here we must make an important distinction between retributive

justice and distributive justice.

1. Retributive justice focuses on how fairly the rules are applied

and the fairness of penalties given to various persons who break the rules.

Racial profiling or stricter enforcement of the rules for some than for

others would constitute injustice in this sense. A society is just in the

retributive sense when everyone is equal before the law.

2. Distributive justice refers to the manner is which the good

things and the onerous tasks of a society are distributed among its

members. Is there a just or fair distribution of the benefits and burdens

within the group, or are some individuals and groups getting more than

their fair share and contributing less than their fair share? Are all the

people within the society getting the benefits and burdens they deserve?

III. It is this issue of distributive justice which is our topic today,

and it is a very difficult issue with two generally opposing views about

what is fair.

A. Both of these opposing views recognize that the problem is

arranging the society so that all individuals end up with the wealth and

burdens which they ought to have. The wealth and burdens should be

distributed fairly.

B. But there are two very different approaches about what is fair.

1. One view focuses on instituting a procedure which motivates

people by giving rewards to those who contribute the most to the welfare of

the group. It is simply unfair if individuals who work harder and

contribute more don't get more in the way of a reward than those who loaf

and contribute nothing. This view represents what we can call the

individualistic or rightist approach to distributive justice. It tends to

support the view that those who have wealth should be allowed to keep it

and have no obligation to share it with the less fortunate.

2. The other view focuses on the outcome of distribution within the

group. Since all individuals are members of the group, there should be a

modicum of equality among them. It is simply unfair for some members to

have a lot more than others. This view represents what we can call the

collectivist or leftist approach to distributive justice. Those who are

well off have an obligation to help and share with those who are not so

well off. As Albert Schweitzer put it, :"Good fortune obligates."

3. Which of these two different views about distributive justice,

the rightist view or the leftist view, is correct? There are good

arguments to support both viewpoints.

IV. For the rightist, merit in a competetive environment must be rewarded

or eventually no one will be exerting any effort to provide the goods &

services which society needs. People are naturally lazy and more concerned

about themselves and their families than about strangers.

A. Competition among individuals to get more for themselves means that

more & better work gets done and more & better goods get produced,

increasing the welfare of the whole society.

B. Furthermore, competition stimulates people to develop their skills &

capabilities.

C. This rightist approach reflects the tough way of nature where

organisms struggle for survival. Those who don't have what it takes don't

survive, and fortunately often don't even produce offspring like

themselves. In the long run, this struggle for survival and dominance

produces better individual organisms and even better groups.

V. For the leftist, justice means equality and providing special

assistance to those who are not so lucky. The way of nature is cruel &

inhumane, especially when applied to humans. Sympathy requires human

effort to overcome the unfairness of nature.

A. When people are born with disabilities & imperfections, should they

be discarded or given special help? Shouldn't humans have a sense of

justice which nature lacks?

B. Reason recognizes the huge role of luck in our being what we are.

People do not choose to be born blind or deaf or mentally retarded or born

in poor countries, nor do they choose to be very talented artistically or

intellectually or athletically or born in rich countries. These things

just happen to us. Why should people who are unlucky suffer as a result of

what is not in their control? Shouldn't people be more humane than nature?

C. Furthermore, using sympathy and cooperation means preserving the

skills and capabilities of persons who in other ways may be defective (such

as Stephen Hawking).

D. This leftist approach is based on a feeling of human solidarity and

a capacity to think and feel which nature lacks. Instead of imitating the

indifference and injustice of an impersonal nature, humanity should rise

above nature and create a fairer reality.

VI. It is enlightening to look at our own society and its institutions in

the light of these two opposing viewpoints about justice.

A. Our economic ideology of capitalism is definitely a rightist

viewpoint that focuses on the value of competition and the need to reward

individual excellence and hard work.

1. It is not hard to see that the Republican Party emphasizes the

rightist outlook.

2. Important slogans are, "Let individuals keep what they have

earned" and "Let's open up the competition and not worry so much about

those who can't hack it."

B. Our political ideology of representative democracy reflects a

leftist viewpoint that insists on the ultimate equality of all individuals

regardless of their wealth or talent.

1. It is not hard to see that the Democratic Party emphasizes the

leftist outlook.

2. Important slogans are, "Let's provide extra assistance to those

who are not so fortunate and are not doing so well" and "Let's use the

power of government to try to at least somewhat equalize opportunity

instead of allowing children of the rich & powerful to have so much of an

advantage over others."

C. Consider the current political arguments about whether the current

government surplus should be given to the rich (who have been paying too

much in taxes, including estate taxes) or whether it should be used to

strengthen the collective Social Security program, pay off the collective

debt, increase equality of opportunity in all schools, build mass

transportation systems, and support efforts to preserve the environment.

VII. In actuality, what is needed is a balance between the rightist and

leftist views. An extreme rightist system promotes too much ruthless

competition at first and monopolism in the end and a spirit of indifference

& even inhumaneness to the less fortunate. An extreme leftist system tends

toward a lack of self-discipline & excellence & hard work. Eventually one

has a stagnant society because change requires effort & personal reward for

that effort.

A. In our country & in our global community we need a balance between

the rightist outlook of our capitalistic economic system and the leftist

outlook of our democratic political system.

B. A current difficulty in the U.S. is that the capitalist economic

system is overpower-ing the democratic political system by the way that

money buys political influence.

C. A difficulty on the global level is that the capitalistic

multinational corporations lack any democratic global political system to

hold them in check.

VIII. Let me add a just a word about the relation between peace & justice.

The terms "peace and justice" are often used together as if they were the

same thing. Actually they are often opposed to each other. Those who are

in positions of power tend to talk about "peace" (usually meaning keeping

things as they are without any violence) while those who are being left out

tend to talk about the need for more "justice" in the leftist sense, that

is, more equality & less letting nature take its course (which generally

means letting the dominant become more dominant). When the democratic

means for bringing about change peacefully are not available or not

working, the advocates of "justice" may be tempted to turn to violence as

the only way to get the greater equality they want.

IX. Conclusion

A. "Justice" is a very complex concept and functions differently in

different contexts.

B. With regard to distributive justice, our task is to find the

appropriate balance between the rightist view which emphazises competition

between individuals and rewards for effort and excellence on the one hand

and the leftist view which emphasizes equality and collective effort for

the group as a whole and empathy for the less fortunate on the other.

C. Both in our country and in our world community the rightist view

with its strident individualism and indifference to the less fortunate is

overpowering the leftist view of the need for a humane social order which

restrains an indifferent & insensitive natural order.