What does ‘justice’ mean to you? Here in the West, we tend to associate justice with the law, and with what happens to those who break it. Sometimes we might feel that too little has been done, or fear that the wrong person has taken the blame. By and large, we tend to believe and hope that justice is upheld by the systems put in place to promote a fair society.
But on the worldwide stage, justice is a much more wide-ranging concept. As soon as you compare the typical lifestyles of those in the most privileged, wealthiest nations with those in the developing world, you start to see why ‘global justice’ is such a tall order. When children in one country work for a pittance to embroider clothing that people in another will wear once then throw away, can we really hope for fairness worldwide?
The UN has declared 20 February World Justice Day as part of a movement towards a fairer world, focusing on issues of poverty, exclusion and unemployment. Human rights organisations like Amnesty International, meanwhile, work hard to promote fairness and justice across the globe. Whilst the scale of global injustice is daunting and undeniable, the very existence of these organisations and movements proves that there is a strong desire for change, and by identifying and tackling the worst examples of poverty and suffering around the world, we can do a lot to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.
“Life isn’t fair” is a refrain we’ve all been closely acquainted with since our first encounter with the school bully, and in many cases it’s true: there’s isn’t much we can do about natural disasters, personal good fortune or some illnesses. But more often than not it’s a handy excuse, trotted out when someone wants to put another person down.
The list of enemies we are completely powerless to defeat is getting smaller every day, with new breakthroughs and technologies to help us overcome what were once seen as insurmountable obstacles. Is it time to stop making our own excuses and do our bit to share these principles of fairness with the rest of the world?
Image: DieselDeamon
