Re: Justice is so revenge
Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Thu, 08 Jan 1998 15:09:11 -0500
Yak Wax wrote:
>
> Alright, time for a different approach:
>
> Justice is not revenge. So let me rephrase my original statement -
> "Maybe justice isn't the best solution, maybe there's something
> better." Now, the problem with our perception of justice is that we
> see it as the enforcement of good. So just to make life more complex,
> I'm disputing the idea of what is good and what is evil (and what is
> anything inbetween.) I would especially dispute the idea of a
> "greater good" and although some things may be good for society (which
> I understand to mean "all of us") justice is a purely subjective
> concept based on individual preferences. But we seem to treat it as
> something greater, our current justice system is there to enforce the
> law of the state, when it is and should be, an individuals choice as
> to what he/she considers right or wrong.
>
I would say that encouraging, and even enforcing respect for contracts
and the concept of mutual consent to be a greater good for both society
AND the individual. I define people who violate either concept to have
done a 'bad' thing, that requires redress.