The Virtue of Justice: Legal Justice Beyond Duty to Love
If the virtue of distributive justice gives us a venue for spiritual growth, the virtue of legal justice offers a great opportunity as well. Legal justice is the dimension of the virtue of justice that calls each member of society to do their duties to society. Individuals of society owe certain duties in exchange for the benefits they gain from being a member. Basic civic duties are considered part of legal justice.
- Military service
- Voting
- Paying taxes
- Jury duty
These are duties created by the social contract and may, therefore, differ from society to society.
But there are also some duties to society that are much more natural and universal. These duties are derived from our place in the human family. We owe it to the society from which we prosper to be active members, to serve and contribute to the “common good” – the good created by a society that is meant to contribute to the flourishing of all members. It’s not fair to expect to benefit from society if you are not contributing to it.
Our View of Society Matters!
The virtue of justice should draw us into a relationship with others.
Our modern post-industrial society has a very mechanical view of society. Society is a machine that exists to meet my needs. If that is how we see society, we have no problem getting as much as we can from society without contributing to it. We have no compunction against shortchanging an impersonal system or a machine.
But if we remember that society is personal, then we realize that we are really cheating other people and other families when we take from society without contributing. Society is actually made up of families cooperating to accomplish and attain more good than individual families could do alone. When we accept this definition of society, we start to see people. You know, it amazes me living in a close neighborhood how my neighbors can all be outside and completely ignore each other. Once we truly see society as the interdependence of families we’ll stop ignoring each other and pretending that we live lonely, private lives. We become more aware of the needs of the people around us. And we become more aware of how we need others. This awareness also inspires us to contribute to the good of society. That is what legal justice is all about.
From the Virtue of Justice to the Virtue of Charity
We can also grow spiritually as we move from seeing our service to society as a mere duty. Pope Benedict XVI warned against this attitude in the work of social justice (see below) in his encyclical Caritas en Veritate. Christians are not called to simple earthly duty. We are called to move beyond duty to love. Jesus teaches,
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:46-47).
Our task in the world is to reveal the love of Christ to the world. We don’t do that by doing what is expected of everyone in society. Instead, we are called to self-sacrificing love. Our involvement in society should make people ask, “what motivates them to be so generously involved?” And our lives should immediately give the answer, “They’re Christian. They do it out of love.”
I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of room for spiritual growth in this area.
Social Justice
We hear so much about social justice, where does it fit into the classical understanding of the virtue of justice? The fact is, social justice is a modern term that doesn’t fit neatly into any of the three dimensions of justice. While we tend to think of it as synonymous with the corporal works of mercy (feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, etc.), social justice is actually the response of the citizens in those times when the society fails to perform distributive justice as it should. It involves the conversion of social structures that fail to offer open access to the goods of society.
As a duty of the citizens to create a healthy society, social justice would be part of legal justice. But as the perfection of society’s ability to distribute its goods to its citizens, it would be more akin to distributive justice.
Wherever it fits, social justice calls us to balance, as do all virtues. It calls us away from apathy to social and political involvement. But we must also avoid the error of becoming too engrossed in earthly politics as if it were possible to remove all sin from this world and establish a perfect society. This obsession will take us away from true spiritual growth, our relationship with God and with God’s family. Nonetheless, when properly balanced social justice represents a healthy Christian involvement in political life. It can lead to spiritual growth in the same way that distributive justice can – making us more aware of the needs of our neighbor and training us to reach out in love.
Grow in the Virtues!
Too often I think we tend to see virtues as attributes that someone either naturally has or lacks, sort of like good looks. The truth is, virtues are skills to be learned, habits to be formed, muscles to be exercised. Growth in virtue is one of the main focuses of From the Abbey. Whether you’re watching an online course or working your way through a more advanced spirituality program, chances are good that you will be learning practical strategies for developing one of the core Catholic virtues that make up a “lay rule of life.” I want to invite you to take advantage of the opportunity below to get more deeply involved with From the Abbey‘s programs. I would love to help you take your next step toward holiness!
Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.