Tuesday, October 2, 2012
About Justice
Personally, I do not think that there is absolute justice in the world. Maybe that’s why Aristotle says that people are “speaking of a limited and partial justice”. Just as same as that motion is absolute while stagnation is relative, justice is a relative thing. In my point of view, justice is for certain group of people. What some people consider as justice is not just viewed by the other people. In the article, Aristotle talks about how to achieve justice in a state. There is a solution that rich people should give their property to poor people. He mentions that that the majority divide anew the property of the minority is not evident to be justice. I agree with his ideas. This solution reminds me of what happened to China when the new government was established by Mao. He said that poor people should also have their own lands, and then he urged farmers to fight against the “evil” landlords. The landlords, unfortunately, were defeated and their land was split, even though they worked hard to get the land or they inherited from their hardworking ancestors. I am afraid that I cannot consider that as justice. Just imagine that you have been working really hard, to earn money and to get better life, and someday, when you find out that you already have some deposit, suddenly some people, such as jobless hobos and idle people, come to your house and say, “Hey, we are all people, why you get paid more than me?” and then take away your money. Absolutely you will feel unfair. But in the eyes of the people who rob your things, they think what they do is to achieve justice. Justice is a white lie.
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One of the reasons why I like reading classmates’ posts is that I can learn about other students’ thoughts that come from different backgrounds. Your example of the land distribution in the Mao period was very interesting. I think the example perfectly supports Aristotle’s idea. It is true that people who worked hard deserve better lives. However, at the same time, I am not sure we can say poor or jobless people do not deserve better life. If children’s parents are poor, is it children’s fault that they do not have access to good education or good job opportunities? I think societies should not ignore such children. We still need to find some solutions to help them have better lives. It is difficult to pursue justice as you mention, but we should not give it up.
ReplyDeleteShengchao, I think that sometimes it is difficult to condemn or criticize one's own government, because the country and its government are so personal to us, so I appreciate your ideas and the frankness with which you argue against Mao's policies. Indeed, it is difficult to see how it might be justice for the poor to forcefully take the land of the rich, since, as you aptly point out, the rich worked hard to earn that land in the first place. In circumstances where the poor outnumber the rich, it may be feasible or easy for the landowners to be overpowered, though this does not necessarily make it just or right. Misguiding people by saying that it is all in the name of justice is even more unjust, it seems. Perhaps that is why you call justice a "white lie," because it is like a bandaid meant to superficially heal a wound or scar rather than actually remedy the problem. I loved this metaphor; it was very strong.
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
-Mitali