Issues of Justice and Peace

1. Issues of Justice and Peace

2. 3 ways of understanding what justice is • Justice as fair play • Justice as the upholding of human rights • Justice as retribution

3. The Task you are asked to do: • Evaluate • the main strengths and weakness of • TWO of the above • when applied to a particular case study.

4. We begin by examining • each of these three ways • of understanding justice

5. Justice as Fair play • Justice as fair play - give everyone their due – this is a common concept which we all learn from our childhood. • Fair play, give everyone their due. • Do to others as you would have them do to you – the Golden Rule . Simple, direct.

6. Justice as the Upholding of human rights • A ‘right’ is an entitlement. • Human rights refer to entitlements that are based purely on our being human. • A right is something ‘due’ to a person. When it is missing a person is treated as less than human, eg in slavery

7. Justice as retribution • This way of looking at justice begins from a situation when someone has been wronged, • Then, justice demands that the wrong be righted. • For instance, I had €40, you stole €20. • To right this wrong … you must give back €20 in retribution.

8. A case study: • Human Slavery during the American Civil war 1861 - 1865

10. American Civil War • The war began in 1861. • Northern States (The Union) fought • Southern States (The Confederacy), • over the issue of slave ownership.

11. The North wanted to abolish slavery, • or at least stop its further expansion.

12. The Southern view • Slaves are property. • They can be bought (like other property) • They can be sold. • Property owners have rights to their property

13. Georgia: slave market in America

14. 1865 • 4 years of Civil war • 600,000 killed • Will Lincoln comprises on the full legal abolition of slavery to end the conflict?

15. January 1865 • Representatives from South sue for peace on these conditions: • (1) No further expansion of slavery • (2) Southern slaves to remain slaves

16. A Council of War

17. The issue was whether to meet with Representatives from the South, • and accept a compromise. • Southern States to keep slavery, but no expansion to other States allowed.

18. Under great strain Lincoln concludes. He says: ‘When one thing is equal to another thing, they are both equal to each other. Now that’s a truth’ ‘ We begin with equality. There’s equality at the origin. That’s fairness, That’s justice’ ….

19. Justice as Fair play • We can see that the understanding of Justice as ‘Fair play’ is at work here in this crucial moment of human history.

20. It’s a simple, but a very powerful, concept. • Its ‘at the origins’ of being human. • It decided the issue for Lincoln

21. Justice as the Upholding of human rights • This this approach is also present, also powerful: • ‘There is equality at the origins… • ‘If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong… • (Abraham Lincoln)

22. Justice as fairness and justice as upholding human rights are closely linked, and often work well together. • It depends on the situations which is the most influential one.

23. Justice as retribution • In the case study we followed used this way of looking at justice is not so effective. It is not to the fore in Lincoln’s thinking at this point • In other situations it can be very important..,

24. But in the long run it will be both important relevant. • Justice as retribution is a powerful resource when the victims themselves seek to articulate the need for justice.

25. ResearchThree topics for further Research • Topic One: • A study of the ‘Thirteen Amendment’ to the US Constitution. • This made slavery. • Lincoln

26. Research • Topic Two. • The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. • (1835 : slavery was abolition in the British Empire, one of the most important reform movements n that century. Why did it succedd?) • www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/‎ • abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_111.html‎

27. Research • Topic Three: • Modern Slavery

28. Modern slavery

29. Modern Slavery

30. Modern Slavery: help from Social Networks • How social enterprises are combatting modern slavery - The Guardian • www.theguardian.com › Professional › Social Enterprise Network‎