The Elements of Justice

What is justice? Questions of justice are questions about what people are due. However, what that means in practice depends on the context in which the question is raised. Depending on context, the formal question of what people are due is answered by principles of desert, reciprocity, equality, or need. Justice, therefore, is a constellation of elements that exhibit a degree of integration and unity. Nonetheless, the integrity of justice is limited, in a way that is akin to the integrity of a neighborhood rather than that of a building. A theory of justice offers individuals a map of that neighborhood, within which they can explore just what elements amount to justice.

• Discusses what justice is and how its meaning will often depend on its context • Looks at what constitutes justice from a philosophical and legal perspective • Will be of interest to philosophers, political scientists and legal theorists

Acknowledgements; 1. What is justice?; 2. How to deserve; 3. How to reciprocate; 4. Equal respect and equal shares; 5. Three kinds of need; 6. Separate persons and the limits of justice.