Laws aren’t for justice. I think if they’re ever in the same room, justice never showed up and the wall has some new stains.
Even if you don’t believe this, a system so thoroughly, from its original seed to every major input its had,made from injustice and tyranny for injustice and tyranny, is not going to provide you with justice.
You need to start fresh from the ground up. Maybe its possible to create a mostly-just system of laws; i don’t think it is, but I’m down to be proven wrong. I do know its impossible to salvage the ones we have, and if you wanted to make a serious attempt, you’d start from scratch.
I think we use laws because they’re a tool for exercising power, and we, growing up in strict hierarchalist societies, confuse power with justice. They’re opposites. Laws are a tool for systematizing and flattening morality so its legible to a top down hierarchy that doesn’t have time/bandwidth to fully pay attention, and a tool to divide a populace so you can justify picking out people you find inconvenient, or increasing power exercised against the people.
I think you find justice where laws don’t excuse people from thought compassion and consideration, put anyone above anyone else, or justify doing awful shit, and I think a lot of the work towards justice and equality is going to be emotionally messy and unpleasant til we get there.
Laws aren’t for justice. I think if they’re ever in the same room, justice never showed up and the wall has some new stains.
Even if you don’t believe this, a system so thoroughly, from its original seed to every major input its had,made from injustice and tyranny for injustice and tyranny, is not going to provide you with justice.
You need to start fresh from the ground up. Maybe its possible to create a mostly-just system of laws; i don’t think it is, but I’m down to be proven wrong. I do know its impossible to salvage the ones we have, and if you wanted to make a serious attempt, you’d start from scratch.
I think we use laws because they’re a tool for exercising power, and we, growing up in strict hierarchalist societies, confuse power with justice. They’re opposites. Laws are a tool for systematizing and flattening morality so its legible to a top down hierarchy that doesn’t have time/bandwidth to fully pay attention, and a tool to divide a populace so you can justify picking out people you find inconvenient, or increasing power exercised against the people.
I think you find justice where laws don’t excuse people from thought compassion and consideration, put anyone above anyone else, or justify doing awful shit, and I think a lot of the work towards justice and equality is going to be emotionally messy and unpleasant til we get there.