Justice: Understandably Misunderstood

1277 Words3 Pages

The concept of justice is simultaneously recognized and misunderstood around the world. The Oxford English Dictionary defines justice as “The quality of being (morally) just or righteous.” For such a brief definition it would not be unlikely to assume that the term justice is a superficial one. On the contrary, this age-old term might have started with a single simple meaning but has developed many more over its existence. The ways civilizations have evolved have in turn forced the word to evolve. Due to this evolution of civilizations, the current state of justice has been lost and it is important to recollect it traits. Many branches of justice now exist and it is possible one may become overwhelmed when searching for its true definition. Observing the term justice presents a plethora of opinions about its definite meaning. In order to create a solid understanding of justice it is necessary to analyze a few of its important branches: retribution, restoration, and distribution. The first step begins with retribution. In order to arrive at a unified definition of justice it is important to take an in-depth look at retributive justice. Robinson provides a clear answer when he states “people often conceptualize justice as that the guilty being held accountable for their actions” (337). In other words, one who has committed a crime has gained an unfair advantage which they were not entitled to by law and deserve punishment. Likewise, it also acts as reinforcement to rules that have been broken (Maiese “Retributive Justice” par. 4). Retributive justice is especially important for severe acts of cruelty and violence. This more severe form of justice, serves for instances where none of the others will suffice. This could include, for ... ... middle of paper ... ...o, Boulder. Posted: October 2003. 12 February 2011.. Maiese, Michelle. "Retributive Justice ." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: May 2004. 12 February 2011. . Maiese, Michelle. "Types of Justice." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003. 12 February 2011. . Robinson, Matthew B. "Justice as freedom, fairness, compassion, and utilitarianism: How my life experiences shaped my views of justice." Contemporary Justice Review 6.4 (2003): 329-340. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 February 2011.

Open Document