Quote:
Originally Posted by slayda
In a like manner, I can pick one type of justice, i.e. "Justice = lawfulness" as defined by the American College Dictionary. So in a dictatorship (where the bulk of the people are now free) the dictator makes the law and justice is what he says it is.
But looking at your freedom example; I realize that just as I am free to bash your head in, so also are you free to bash my head in. If we're both smart, we will sit down and discuss whether to mutually bash heads and probably agree not to. However wars get started when we can not agree and it is usually because we can't agree on what is fair.
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When I first read this, I was puzzled about how a friendly exchange in this forum had devolved to us wanting to bash each other's heads in, but then I realized what you meant by this example.
I agree that the comparison between the values of freedom and justice is meaningless without first defining what we mean by "freedom" and "justice." I also agree that disagreements are often over what is "fair."
To me, it is fair that the strong help the weak. I suppose partly this is because I am convinced that the starting conditions (in the US and around the world) are highly unfair; again, there are people who have managed to overcome all kinds of obstacles to achieve "success" however you want to define it, but a great many people never even have a realistic chance at accomplishing their goals, often due to circumstances completely out of their control. Similarly, a great many people who have resources have them because of events in their lives which they had no control over (i.e. luck), whether birth, chance opportunity, or whatever. I don't mean to devalue hard work, which does make a difference, but I don't think it makes as much of a difference as many people seem to assume. (That's probably where I part ways with many of the Americans here.)
Oddly enough, I had a similar conversation about the fairness of biological aspects of being male or female with my 14 year old daughter a couple of months ago, with much the same conclusions-- the advantages and disadvantages probably even out.
