Friendship and The Justice Principle

No one can survive and flourish without receiving some marks of love or friendship. Parents, then family, neighbours, schoolfriends, firm friends, casual acquaintances and trusted professionals provide the social context in which we are born, grow, learn and develop. But we do not love others just because we need them - we also need them because we love them. Love & friendship are as necessary to us as truth, health and religion. Our basic attitude to others is respect which means recalling they are not objects or beasts but intelligent, free beings.

Respect requires seeking justice, but there are many concepts of justice & we must determine which one is at stake & just what it asks of us. Justice can mean being fair to oneself, distributing resources fairly, treating people equally, protecting human rights, pursuing impartiality, punishing & rewarding equitably etc. So before seeking justice we must consider the meaning of rights, equality, fairness etc. Nevertheless, we must do this hard thinking because justice matters. Injustice violates the Justice Principle: act with justice towards all. It may also involve a sin against the Seventh Commandment.