Do we really want justice?

Do we really want justice? Really? Most people would say, "yes! Definitely! We need justice in our society!" But do we really, deep down inside, want it? And does our society today, over 2000 years after Plato, have it?

It seems to be an obvious issue- we want to live in a society that is as perfect as can be, ergo we want to live in a just society. But living together as a society has it's side effects that are hard to see just by looking at it on paper. The most clear side-effect of having a just society is a loss of individualism and personality as a result of living as a collective people. Most people don't want to give these up. In addition, more fundamentally, we humans have personal (sometimes unjust but personally beneficial) ambitions and desires, and we're more willing than it would seem to stomp on each other for personal gain. It is this taboo but very real nature of ourselves that keeps us in a society designed to be unjust.

So it may seem that we don't want a perfectly just society. This is evident, seeing as we live in a society that is far from just.  It is corrupted and manipulated for a small elite class for their own benefit, and is accepted- if not endorsed- by the lower classes as they wait and work for the day when they're in that elite position (a day that seldom comes for many).

While justice is good, makes for goodness in a society, and is generally desired by everyone, people don't want to be the ones who have to sacrifice in order to get the collective benefit. If there's a trash problem, everyone wants a new landfill- it's just that nobody wants them across the street from them. Likewise, we like the idea of justice, but we also like individuality and selfishness. Justice, too, is hard to define- what may be justice for someone can be injustice for another. So it's hard to conceive of a just society, and even harder to live in one. And while we like justice, sadly, we don't really want it in our greater society.

Wisdom and Justice

Is wisdom the same as justice? Can it lead to justice? Are wise men just, are just men wise, or is there no correlation? 

Wisdom and justice are often equatable. It is often argued that all just choices and just realities are wise, and that wise choices and wise realities are just. This would seem very evident; in nearly every instance, when people make just decisions they come back to benefit them- they're making wise choices. What goes around comes around, as they say. Likewise, when people do wise things, they often end up being, or appear to be, just.

The problem arises because wisdom and justice aren't definite and objective. What may be wise is different for every person, and the definition of justice also changes based on who you ask. Therefore, it may seem that wise choices aren't just and that just choices aren't wise. Bad things sometimes happen to just and wise people; sometimes, good things happen to those who lack these traits. it's all subjective, which makes it difficult to come up with a definite correlation.

Nevertheless, it seems that when in doubt, be just. Chances are, it will also be wise. You're hitting two birds with one stone. Even if the issue is difficult to define and form, it's easy to see a correlation between wisdom and justice.