JUSTICE

 

I use the word “justice” in titles (“U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black,” “the criminal justice system”); I also use it poetically, ironically (I use it this way often), in jest (ditto), or when I’m intentionally trying to appeal to the emotions of an audience that is likely to be swayed by that sort of buzzword (something I almost never do; it’s the dark magic of politicians, extremely hazardous to the soul).

But I won’t currently make serious use the word “justice” in the sense of, “I want to devote my life to working for justice in the world,” because I don’t know what the word “justice” means, and no one has yet presented me with a definition or explanation of it that has any relevance to reality as I experience it.

There are various other words that people seem to relate to justice when they use the word “justice” in this way – “peace,” “liberty,” “righteousness,” “revenge,” etc. – that do seem to me to hold meaning, and I use those words on occasion.

But not “justice.” I won’t use the word unless and until I have a clear sense of its meaning.

Call it lexical hygiene.