Can We Live in a Just World?

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What is justice? Can we live in a just world? I don’t really know the answer to these questions because justice is a very complex matter with an extremely broad spectrum. Sadly, we live in an existence where righteousness has by no means truly transpired. Justice is something that everyone is entitled to and should be an essential part of any lawful system. With this statement comes numerous questions such as, Are all laws just laws? Is the legal system just? Can there be justice for all? And Can there be equality for all people? According to Webster’s dictionary justice is” The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments: the administration of law; especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity. The quality of being just, impartial, or fair, the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action, conformity to this principle or ideal, righteousness, the quality of conforming to law, conformity to truth, fact, or reason and correctness (Webster’s Dictionary)”. In my opinion the definition of justice has a personal meaning for each individual and is defined based on a person’s life experiences. Defining the meaning of justice has been an ongoing struggle since the beginning of time. It beleaguered ancient philosophers and still plagues modern political thinkers to this day. Where does one even begin to dissect such a multifaceted topic. In The Republic, Plato, the greatest political philosopher explores the meaning of justice through many characters and dialogues of O'Keefe 2 Socrates... ... middle of paper ... ... still going on in our country. He would be pleased of how far we've come O'Keefe 6 in forty years but would still find needs for improvement. One such instance would be in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One of the main topics of debate after the tragedy was whether or not the government's sluggish reaction time had anything to do with the fact that New Orleans was sixty-seven percent African American. On the other hand he would be extremely pleased that our country elected Barack Obama to be the president of the United States. The meaning of justice will be disputed until the end of time. It is my feeling that that both ancient philosophers and modern thinkers alike can accept the meaning of justice as Cephalus gives to Socrates in the commencement of Plato's Republic that "justice consists in giving each what is owed" (Davis-Judd, 4).

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