Justice

This week's 2-on-1 topic is justice - the maintenance or administration of what is just, especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments as defined by Merriam Webster online. In plain English, justice is the morally fair and right state of everything as defined by culture. Of course that implies that justice varies by culture, and so is one man's justice anothers tyranny?

How often have you encountered street musicians playing and singing in public places? In Singapore it could cost you up to 3 months in jail, a fine or both.

Homosexuality in Singapore is illegal. It was in the UK for years. Chewing gum is okay, but selling it is forbidden. According to Singapore Statutes Online, the punishment for smuggling gum into the country is up to 2 years in jail or a $100,000 fine. Spitting carries a fine of up to $1000 dollars. And do not wander around your house nude - well, at least do not get caught.

Well, I suppose we are lucky here in the USA.   We have a justice system that keeps almost 2.5 million bad people in jail. The Innocence Project, however, estimates between 2.3 percent and 5 percent of all US prisoners innocent. That makes for a lot of collateral damage. There was a time when we sought to rehabilitate prisoners and make them suitable to re-enter society, not something you hear much these days. Justice? That depends upon who you ask. Plus, the number of incarcerated people here is much larger.

Half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia. Prison rates in the US are the world's highest, at 724 people per 100,000. In Russia the rate is 581.At 145 per 100,000, the imprisonment rate of England and Wales is at about the midpoint worldwide.
Many of the lowest rates are in developing countries, but overcrowding can be a serious problem. Kenyan prisons have an occupancy level of 343.7% 

Country	Prison population	Population per 100,000	Jail occupancy level %	Un-sentenced prisoners %	Women prisoners %
AUSTRALIA	25,790	125	105.9	21.6	7.1
BRAZIL	371,482	193	150.9	33.1	5.4
CHINA	1,548,498	118	N/A	N/A	4.6
ENGLAND/WALES	80,002	148	112.7	16.4	5.5
INDIA	332,112	30	139	70.1	3.7
JAPAN	79,052	62	105.9	14.7	5.9
KENYA	47,036	130	284.3	45.6	42
MEXICO	214,450	196	133.9	43.2	5
N IRELAND	1,375	79	91.5	37.4	2.2
NIGERIA	40,444	30	101.5	64.3	1.9
POLAND	89,546	235	124.4	16.8	3
RUSSIA	874,161	615	79.5	16.9	6.8
SCOTLAND	6,872	134	107.5	21	4.4
SOUTH AFRICA	158,501	334	138.6	27.5	2.1
TURKEY	65,458	91	77.4	47.7	3.3
UKRAINE	162,602	350	101.3	19.5	6.1
US	2,193,798	737	107.6	21.2	8.9

Clearly the Justice systems vary from country to country.

Studying Justice exposes you to sveral types of Justice and I tend to side with there being 4 types of justice: commutative, distributive, legal, and social. The above is concerned with legal justice. Again - justice varies by culture. The decade of the sixties offered a fight against social injustice waged by the Baby Boomer generation against their parents generation and the government. We are now witnessing a rebellion of sorts by Millennials and the current occupant of the White House, ironically a boomer. Again, it shows how Justice is not static but rather fluid, much to the chagrin of many Boomers.

Social justice

Take a gander at things like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, among others to see for yourself just how fluid Social Justice/injustice can be.

Distributive justice

Distributive justice, also known as economic justice, is about fairness in what people receive, from goods to attention. Its roots are in social order and it is at the roots of socialism, where equality is a fundamental principle.

Retributive justice

Retributive justice works on the principle of punishment, although what constitutes fair and proportional punishment is widely debated. In other words it is very fluid. The intent may be to dissuade the perpetrator or others from future wrong-doing, the re-offending rate of many criminals indicates the limited success of this approach.

Punishment in practice is more about the satisfaction of victims and those who care about them. This strays into the realm of revenge, which can be many times more severe than reparation as the hurt party seeks to make the other person suffer in return. In such cases 'justice' is typically defined emotionally rather that with intent for fairness or prevention. Look at jury awards for various lawsuits, like cigarettes

Commutative justice

Justice bearing on the relations between individuals especially in respect to the equitable exchange of goods and fulfillment of contractual obligations

Fairness is the principle that should guide your quest for justice. Most western theories of Justice are rooted in Judeo/Christian history. Looking at Justice with an unbiased eye will probably make you doubt tht statement. Once planted our tree of Justicwe undergoes some serious and at times radical pruning and reshaping. Does that constitute a perversion of Justice? I suppose that depends upon which side you are on.

That is it for my quick look at Justice. Be sure to chack Ramana's comments at Ramana's Musings.

And for any football fans reading this - GO Niners!!