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| Justice |
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What is justice to you?
This is a quote from the Bible, but you don't need to be a Christian or a Jew to believe that justice is important. How do you feel if someone treats you unjustly? Justice is important to the way our society is run, and you only have to go to the school playground to hear how justice matters to children. Indeed we are all quick to shout 'it's not fair' when we think we have been treated unjustly. The propeht Micah was very clear about how highly God values justice and that we treat each other justly. Anyone who wants to be 'generous' and to live ethically will also be concerned about justice for other people, a justice that goes beyond caring that criminals get the punisment we may think they deserve. A generous and godly justice will make us think about the choices we make in everyday life and will encourage us to beware of unjust practices in the world. |
Statue of one of the Tolpuddle martyrs |
Injustice keeps people in poverty As often as not it is injustice that keeps people poor. Prices in developed countries such as the United Kingdom are kept low because international trade rules are not fair. Businesses in developed countries have the power to decide what the rules are and so they make sure they help to keep the prices low so they can make big profits. This means that the people in developing countries who work to produce our food, clothing and other goods are often not paid enough to feed their families properly and may have to choose between buying medicine and food if they become ill. Even when free schooling is available some families just can't afford to send their children to school because they need the few pence a day they can earn in order to feed the rest of the family. As costs have to be kept low, many people have to work in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Sometimes people use slaves to keep the price of goods down. Even though the international slave trade ended in 1807 and slavery is illegal in most countries, millions of men, women and children around the world are forced to lead lives as slaves. There are people in the UK who are treated like slaves, too, and human trafficking makes this possible. Every year thousands of women and girls are trafficked into forced prostitution in the UK and many more people are brought here for agriculural and domestic work and other forms of forced labour. Think back to the last time you bought a real bargain. It may have made you feel really good, but how would you have felt if you had known that your bargain came at the cost of other people's misery? Would you have bought it if you had known? |
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