Full Idea
To ask whether a society is just is to ask how we distribute the things we prize - income and wealth, duties and rights, powers and opportunities, offices and honours.
Gist of Idea
Justice concerns how a society distributes what it prizes - wealth, rights, power and honours
Source
Michael J. Sandel (Justice: What's the right thing to do? [2009], 01)
Book Reference
Sandel,Michael J.: 'Justice: what's the right thing to do?' [Penguin 2010], p.19
A Reaction
There is, of course, the prior question of what things should be controlled by a society for distribution. But there is also justice in the promotional and pay structure of institutions within a society, including private institutions.
Related Idea
Idea 21028 We can approach justice through welfare, or freedom, or virtue [Sandel]