[jambutty]

Originally Posted by Eric

Justice is not revenge. Justice is what a state considers an appropriate punishment for a particular anti-social act at a particular time. What is considered just in one state may be considered "cruel and unusual" in another. For example, some may consider stoning an adultress or whipping her in public to be just. Others consider it barbaric. How a country treats its criminals is an indication of the values of most of its citizens. Revenge is revenge, and is a constant in humans. It's an emotion all of us feel, and some of us act on. Systems of laws are not constant. They develop along with a society. They change often. We no longer hang someone for impersonating a Chelsea pensioner. We don't transport criminals. We don't imprison for debt. Our "rules" change. So do our ideas of what is "just" and what is unjust.

You still don’t get it do you?

Administering justice and handing out a punishment is retribution or vengeance if you like. In other words exacting revenge.

What is just and not just doesn’t come into it.