Themes

What is justice?

We explain what justice is and its meaning in the judicial and philosophical field. In addition, what is social justice.

  1. What is justice?

The term justice comes from the Latin word Iustitia, which  is difficult to define since it varies according to the culture and values of each community , as well as the worldview of each individual.

Justice is, in broad strokes, the virtue of giving each one what corresponds . This can be used taking into account the limitations of justice as power or else, establishing the fair based on the reasonable.

  1. Justice in the judicial field

Justice - law
The term “justice” is also used to refer to the judiciary.

Within the judicial sphere, this concept is used to refer to the rules and regulations that condition the actions of individuals and institutions based on authorizations, prohibitions and obligations that must be respected.

For the establishment of these conditions, societies usually take as a basis the consensus coming from the majority of the individuals of a society with respect to what is considered as bad and good.

These rules and regulations are usually formulated and put in writing by the members of the legislative branch of each district whose main function is precisely this.

The word “justice” is also used to refer to the judiciary , one of the three powers of the State . It is this that is responsible for applying the existing legal norms in the different conflicts that arise within a society. In this way they have the function of administering justice.

  1. Justice in philosophy

Justice has been an issue addressed by various thinkers throughout history . One of them was Plato, who considers it the harmony of society. His disciple Aristotle considers, however, as equal proportional, what it means to give each one what corresponds to him and this has to do with his needs, contributions to society and his own merits.

Another author who addressed the issue was Saint Thomas Aquinas, who has a different appreciation of the concept of justice since he considers it as a natural law. This is why people have natural rights that have been granted by God .

  1. What is social justice?

social justice
Social justice seeks equal opportunities for all individuals.

Social justice refers to a balanced distribution of assets within a community . This concept arises casually in the nineteenth century with the emergence of capitalist societies where labor claims and social unrest increased.

  • For the socialists. It is the State must guarantee that disadvantaged social classes have the possibility to develop and that there is a respect for human rights .
  • For the liberals. instead, this is achieved if private sector initiatives are protected and if the necessary opportunities are created.

The main objective of social justice is then that within a market society there are not few who have much and many who have little, but that there is an equal opportunity for each and every individual.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button