Justice is a primal drive. It finds many forms of
expression – the desire to see good conduct rewarded and bad
conduct punished, the reluctance to benefit from undeserved reward,
and also the desire for revenge, to see people hoist on their own
petard, and even, perhaps, schadenfreude.
Like any primal drive it can lead us to right
action or to wrong action. What is just is not simple, nor possible
to know in all circumstances. Indeed, even our basic urge to justice
does not reliably lead to just outcomes, for while it is that drive
that pushes us to vengeance, vengeance is rarely just.
Yet it also drives us to protect those who suffer
unjustly, to stand against persecution and scapegoating. It causes us
to wish to see credit given where it is due, and it drives us to let
others know that we appreciate their work, their actions, indeed that
we appreciate them as people.
