Justice

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   • Ronald L. Cohen

   Pages 1-9

3. Philosophy and Justice

   • Allen Buchanan, Deborah Mathieu

   Pages 11-45

4. Economics and Justice

   • Stephen T. Worland

   Pages 47-84

5. Political Studies and Justice

   • Arthur DiQuattro

   Pages 85-116

6. Sociology and Justice

   • Steve Rytina

   Pages 117-151

7. Psychology and Justice

   • Lita Furby

   Pages 153-203

8. Anthropology and Justice

   • Laura Nader, Andrée Sursock

   Pages 205-233

9. Public Policy and Justice

   • Karol Soltan

   Pages 235-268

10. Back Matter

    Pages 269-283

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Ronald L. Cohen Justice is a central moral standard in social life. It is invoked in judging individual persons and in judging the basic structure of societies. It has been described as akin to a "human hunger or thirst" (Pascal, Pensees, cited in Hirschman, 1982, p. 91), "more powerful than any physical hunger, and endlessly resilient" (Pitkin, 1981, p. 349). The most prominent contemporary theory of justice proceeds from the claim that justice is "the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is systems of thought" (Rawls, 1971, p. 3). However, as the following chapters demonstrate, justice has a complex and controversial history. If, as has been claimed, justice is a central category of human thought and a central aspect of human motivation, can it also be the case that to invoke justice is no more than "banging on the table: an emotional expression which turns one's demand into an absolute postulate" (Ross, 1959, p. 274)? If justice is the first virtue of social institutions, can the concept of social or economic justice at the same time be "entirely empty and meaningless" so that any attempt to employ it is "either thoughtless or fraudulent" (Hayek, 1976, pp. xi-xii)? In a formal sense, justice concerns ensuring that each person receives what she or he is due.

• emotion
• Institution
• Moral

• Bennington College, Bennington, USA

  Ronald L. Cohen

Policies and ethics