Justice
History

A variety of philosophical and moral theories have been advanced to inform understanding of justice.

Early theories of justice were set out by the Ancient Greek philosophers Plato, in his work The Republic, and Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics and Politics.

Religious explanations of justice can be grouped under the divine command theory, which holds that justice issues from God.

Western thinkers later advanced different theories about where the foundations of justice lie. In the 17th century, philosophers such as John Locke said justice derives from natural law. Social contract theory, advocated by thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, says that justice derives from the mutual agreement of members of society to be governed in a political order. In the 19th century, utilitarian philosophers such as John Stuart Mill said that justice is served by what creates the best outcomes for the greatest number of people.

Modern frameworks include concepts such as distributive justice, egalitarianism, retributive justice, and restorative justice. Distributive justice considers what is fair based on what goods are to be distributed, between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution. Egalitarians suggest justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality. Theories of retributive justice say justice is served by punishing wrongdoers, whereas restorative justice (also sometimes called "reparative justice") is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders.
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