Justice

Abstract

There is a strong contrast between the deep sense of justice that we all — even the wicked — have deep within, and the widespread injustice we see in the world. “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau). For many injustices courts and lawyers are not enough; for some they are useless because the legal, commutative, and compensable aspects cover only a few aspects of justice, the full extent of which actually covers the whole of our lives. There is a rapidly increasing tendency today to respond wrongly to the question of justice by “legalizing” the whole of social life, possibly even by codifying every interpersonal relationship, turning all human relationships into contracts.