The Just or the "Right"

In order to define a word, the most common thing to do in today's society is to go to the dictionary. So quite naturally, one would also go to the dictionary to define the word "justice" in which it has about seven different definitions for the term. Ironically, of those seven different definitions, none of them use the word "right" even once. In popular belief, one would believe that justice is "doing what is right". So the question for me then is if the dictionary is written and rewritten based on the "agreed upon" meanings of words, why do all seven of the definitions for "justice" not include "right" if justice in everyone's mind is doing what is "right".


This question is somewhat answered in Plato's "Republic" when Thrasymuchus offers the bold philosophy that "justice" is essentially what works to the advantage of the strongest. On the surface, this seems like a preposterous claim. We as Americans especially are trained to think that "justice" is always making the "right" decision and to us that is in most cases the "ethical" decision not the decision that appeals to the greatest amount of people or the elite. Since we are trained to think that way, we think that the government and judicial system are of the same mindset as us in that they will make the "right" decision. But, is the right, ethical decision always viewed by the elite as the "just" decision.


This type of thinking makes Thrasymuchus sound like a genius. He has removed himself, his thoughts, his actions, his beliefs, and everything he has been taught to think. He has essentially looked at the situation and the question in objective a manor as possible. When you really think about it, his philosophy seems to be true. At the end of it all, the higher power always gets the last say so no matter how right or wrong their decision is. The reason that the "right" decision isn't always made is because sometimes that decision doesn't benefit the elite. The elite has the "right" to make whatever decision they want. The decisions they choose to make ultimately shape our idea of "justice".


For example, when marijuana was illegal in all 50 states, the American perspective was that marijuana was an unjust thing to consume. Alcoholic beverages and cigarettes have been legal for a very long time. Does that mean that marijuana is "unjust" and drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes is "just"? All three of them have negative effects on your health but two are legal and the other is not. In our idea of "justice", the "bad stuff" should be outlawed no matter how miniscule the effect so why are cigarettes and alcohol not "outlawed"? Because the government and big business make TONS off of them. On the other hand why is marijuana illegal? The reason it is illegal is simply because the government makes nothing off of it. This is a prime example of the elite succeeding in clouding our judgment of what justice really is. In today's society, justice is exactly what the dictionary defines it as, "the quality of being just" not "the quality of being "right"".