More Justice in Theory

Justice is a simple word that is loaded with meaning,

depending with whom you speak.
It is defined in two major veins.
Some see it more philosophically, Justice is
rendering to each his due; Conformity to moral
rightness in attitude or action (www.dictionary.com;
justice).
The second manner in which justice can be
understood is in how it relates to positive law, or the
administration of human laws. This concept sees
following and implementing man-made laws as the
means of achieving justice. So, when a robber is
caught, tried, and sentenced to 15 years, it might be
said that justice was done.

More Justice in Theory

There is a third concept of justice, which arose after
the so-called death of God and the rise of socialism
(Novak, 2000), and has burdened the 20th century
more than any other idea.
That is the idea of social justice.
It is the idea that the poor are merely economically
disadvantaged, and unfortunately havent been given
the same opportunities you and I might have.
It isnt their fault, dont blame the victim.
It is structural, in nature.
The current social construct (which always seems to
be capitalist in nature they dislike this system) keeps
people from becoming their best by allowing some to
take advantage of opportunities while not others.

Justice in Practice

Anarcho-capitalist justice cannot occur until the

state deregulates itself out of existence (or is violently
overthrown) and then people can be free to choose and
the market to impoverish or make wealthy.

Libertarians (or classical liberals) sees the

government as perhaps necessary, but overly
regulatory, and that justice cannot happen until it
deregulates itself out of peoples lives to where it only
functions in minimal areas, hence allowing people to be
responsible for their own decisions. They value rights
over traditional values.

Conservatives tend to trust the government more,

and see justice as being what the government provides
through its system of laws. They value traditional
principles over rights. More regulation is normally
alright, but do it in smaller doses.

Justice in Practice

Liberals see that government is needed

because regulation is the only way to achieve any
form of justice by the government ensuring that
equal footing, after all, the Constitution offers the
right to life liberty and happiness (pursuit of
intentionally left out because liberals typically do as
well). More regulation in important, big doses are
better.

Socialists see justice as everyone being taken

care of equally. We all need to have the same
amount of wealth and opportunity and the states
priorities need to be realigned. More regulation is a
must, and it has to be revolutionary (Weebies,
2004).

More Justice in Theory

Justice, to be just, first must meet the precondition
of maximum freedom both economically and
personally for every free society.
Any incidence of illegitimate regulation causes
injustice to be served and complicates systems of
justice.
Our current system is predicated on the notion of
government controllability of any facet it deems
necessary.
We have turned to government so often for a fix
that legislators and the public now seem to think
that any problem that exists must be legislated
out of existence.

More Justice in Theory

The incarceration rates since 1983 have
skyrocketed.
Is there a connection to capitalism and crime?
But it isnt just capitalism, it is the free-market
kind of capitalism, a philosophy that promotes
freedom, free-choice, and personal responsibility.
It is a philosophy of liberty.
Any society that emulates those values will
certainly have people in that society who reject
other values (such as the religious ones) in
exchange for the ability to exploit those who
accept the broader socio-cultural framework

More Justice in Theory

Consider that the prison populations are
burgeoning in the U.S. (we have the highest
incarceration rate in the world, based on
population); so how do we deal with the problem?
Consider the effect of more criminalization (i.e.
increasing legislation which criminalizes conduct at
local, state, and federal level).
More things that are illegal, lead to more arrests for
things that are wrong; which leads to a now
documented need for more officers to enforce
those new laws; which lead to more, arrests, more
convictions, incarcerations; now we see a crime
wave happening, and want government to pass
more laws to protect us from the crime wave.

More Justice in Theory

Herbert Packer, Professor of Law at Stanford
University School of Law, once commented We
can have as much or as little crime as we please,
depending on what we choose to count as
criminal." (see: http://www.cato.org/dailys/02-2300.html and check out the chart).
Fixing our prison problem is as easy as
deregulating, but doing that makes politicians
seem soft on crime which isnt good for the reelection campaign.
What happens to the non-violent offender when
thrown in prison for years with violent offenders?
Is that good for society?

More Justice in Theory

More Justice in Theory

The chart on the previous slide illustrates the impact
of the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control
Act.
Not too much happened right after Nixon signed it
because of the Watergate affair, but enforcement
ramped up under the Reagan Administration.
Of course population growth does have something to
do with the increase, but not THAT much; look at the
juvenile numbers, they dont change too much at all.
The War on Drugs certainly has had an effect on
the growth in the prison population. This takes us
back to the concept of the more things that are
illegal, the more opportunity for arrests and
convictions.