Justice And Identity Politics
Richard Knight
It can be useful to go back to first principles, so here is what one might come up with when going back to first principles regarding justice. After this come some thoughts on what is made of these principles by identity politics.
When we think of justice, two things might come to mind, the first being someone getting their just deserts. They have been found guilty, and now they are being sentenced. The second thing is fairness. A child who says “It’s not fair!” is complaining that an injustice has been done, usually because of a lack of equal treatment. This idea of justice as equal treatment is enshrined in the principle of equality before the law and by extension as a principle that should govern the operation of any institution. We may not be entitled to equal treatment from people in our private lives, but we should be able to expect it from institutions. These two aspects of it, as concerning a question of guilt and as equal treatment by an institution, capture the essence of justice for practical purposes.
In either sense justice is a process or procedure. It is a human activity, something that is done. What goes on in a court of law is a process, procedure or activity that should lead to a just result. Justice as equal treatment is a way an institution has or should have of proceeding as a matter of course.
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Richard Knight
It can be useful to go back to first principles, so here is what one might come up with when going back to first principles regarding justice. After this come some thoughts on what is made of these principles by identity politics.
When we think of justice, two things might come to mind, the first being someone getting their just deserts. They have been found guilty, and now they are being sentenced. The second thing is fairness. A child who says “It’s not fair!” is complaining that an injustice has been done, usually because of a lack of equal treatment. This idea of justice as equal treatment is enshrined in the principle of equality before the law and by extension as a principle that should govern the operation of any institution. We may not be entitled to equal treatment from people in our private lives, but we should be able to expect it from institutions. These two aspects of it, as concerning a question of guilt and as equal treatment by an institution, capture the essence of justice for practical purposes.
In either sense justice is a process or procedure. It is a human activity, something that is done. What goes on in a court of law is a process, procedure or activity that should lead to a just result. Justice as equal treatment is a way an institution has or should have of proceeding as a matter of course.
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