🧭 Concept of Justice: Quick Notes 🧭

⚖️ 1. Etymology & Meaning

Latin jus/juris = law/right.

Justice = moral fairness + legal correctness + ethical principles.

Central to political philosophy: "Who gets what, when, how, and why?"

🏛️ 2. Classical Theories

A. Plato (The Republic)

Justice = performing one’s natural role.

Tripartite soul ↔ class structure:

• Rational → Rulers (Wisdom)
• Spirited → Warriors (Courage)
• Appetitive → Workers (Temperance)

Justice = harmony, not equality.

B. Aristotle

Justice = "giving each his due" → Distributive and Corrective justice.

• Distributive → proportional equality (merit-based).
• Corrective → rectifying wrongs (e.g. punishment, compensation).

C. Cicero & Roman Thinkers

Justice rooted in natural law → universal, eternal.

✝️ 3. Medieval Christian Thinkers

St. Augustine: Justice comes from divine law.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Synthesized Aristotelian and Christian views—justice = cardinal virtue.

Justice subordinated to theological truth.

⚙️ 4. Modern Theories

A. Thomas Hobbes

Justice = obedience to sovereign (Leviathan).

In the state of nature → no justice/injustice.

B. John Locke

Natural rights (life, liberty, property) → State protects rights.

Justice = securing individual freedoms via social contract.

C. Rousseau

Justice = general will.

State must reflect collective moral consensus.

D. Utilitarians (Bentham, Mill)

Justice = greatest happiness of the greatest number.

Critique: may sacrifice minority rights.

🌍 5. Marxist Theory

Justice is class-based: capitalist justice = exploitation.

True justice = classless, stateless society.

Economic structure shapes justice perceptions.

📚 6. Contemporary Theories

A. John Rawls (A Theory of Justice, 1971)

Justice as Fairness

Key Principles:

• Equal basic liberties for all.
• Inequalities justified only if:
  • Greatest benefit to the least advantaged (Difference Principle)
  • Equal opportunity (Fair Equality of Opportunity)

Original Position + Veil of Ignorance → hypothetical contract.

B. Robert Nozick (Anarchy, State, and Utopia)

Libertarian critique of Rawls.

Justice = entitlement based on:

• Acquisition
• Transfer
• Rectification

State should be minimal: “Taxation is forced labor.”

C. Amartya Sen (The Idea of Justice, 2009)

Critique of Rawls: real-world injustices matter more than ideal theory.

Justice = capability enhancement + public reasoning.

Focus on comparative justice, not ideal models.

D. Martha Nussbaum

Expanded capability approach: dignity + human development.

Lists 10 core capabilities (health, bodily integrity, emotions, etc.)

🌐 7. Global Justice

Thomas Pogge: Current global order perpetuates injustice.

Justice = reforming institutions to reduce global poverty.

Emphasis on negative duties of affluent states.

♀️ 8. Feminist Views

Justice must consider gendered power structures.

Carol Gilligan: Ethics of care vs. justice.

Critique: mainstream theories overlook private sphere (family, caregiving).

🧩 9. Types of Justice

Type	Meaning
Distributive	Fair allocation of resources (Aristotle, Rawls)
Procedural	Fair processes (e.g. legal due process)
Retributive	Punishment proportionate to wrongdoing
Restorative	Reconciliation and repair (focus on victims and offenders)
Social	Elimination of institutional inequalities (Rawls, Marx)
Global	Ethical duties beyond borders (Pogge, Sen)

🤔 10. Debates in Justice

Issue	Position A	Position B
Equality vs. Liberty	Rawls: Balance both	Nozick: Liberty is primary
Ideal vs. Non-Ideal Theory	Rawls: Ideal model first	Sen: Focus on real injustices
Universalism vs. Particularism	Justice applies universally	Cultural context matters
State-Centric vs. Global	Justice within national borders	Justice must be global

📚 Authors & Their Works on Justice

Author	Major Work(s)	Key Contribution to Justice
Plato	The Republic	Justice as harmony of the soul & classes in an ideal state.
Aristotle	Nicomachean Ethics, Politics	Distributive and corrective justice; justice = moral virtue.
Cicero	On the Republic, On the Laws	Justice rooted in natural law and universal moral order.
St. Augustine	The City of God	Earthly justice is inferior to divine justice.
St. Thomas Aquinas	Summa Theologica	Combined Aristotelian justice with Christian theology.
Thomas Hobbes	Leviathan	Justice = obedience to sovereign; no justice in state of nature.
John Locke	Two Treatises of Government	Justice = protection of life, liberty, and property.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau	The Social Contract	Justice = conformity to the general will.
Jeremy Bentham	Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation	Justice = utility (greatest happiness).
J.S. Mill	Utilitarianism, On Liberty	Tried to reconcile justice with individual liberty.
Karl Marx	Critique of the Gotha Programme, Capital	Justice = end of exploitation; classless society.
John Rawls	A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism	Justice as fairness; original position; difference principle.
Robert Nozick	Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974)	Entitlement theory; minimalist state.
Amartya Sen	The Idea of Justice (2009), Development as Freedom	Comparative justice; capabilities approach.
Martha Nussbaum	Creating Capabilities, Frontiers of Justice	Expanded capabilities approach with focus on dignity.
Carol Gilligan	In a Different Voice	Feminist critique of justice as fairness; ethics of care.
Michael Sandel	Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?	Engages with Rawls, Nozick, Aristotle in modern context.
Thomas Pogge	World Poverty and Human Rights	Global justice; duties to reduce global inequality.
David Miller	Principles of Social Justice	Justice in a pluralistic society; contextual justice.
Brian Barry	Justice as Impartiality	Neutral justice; fairness in multicultural societies.
Alasdair MacIntyre	After Virtue	Critique of liberal justice; calls for return to virtue ethics.

📝 Conclusion

Justice is not a static idea—it’s a living debate. From Plato’s harmony to Sen’s capabilities, justice evolves with society. Whether you lean toward libertarian minimalism, Rawlsian fairness, or feminist critiques, what remains constant is the quest to balance rights, duties, and dignity in a plural world.

🧠 Tips to Remember:

• Classical → Plato, Aristotle
• Medieval → Augustine, Aquinas
• Modern → Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Bentham, Mill
• Marxist → Marx
• Contemporary Liberal → Rawls, Nozick
• Contemporary Global & Feminist → Sen, Nussbaum, Gilligan, Pogge