Chase The Kangaroo

Justice: The Balance Between Self and Society

“Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s definition of Justice extends beyond the negative command not to harm. It includes a positive call to act rightly, to offer what others are due. For Franklin, justice was not a matter of rules, but of rhythm. It required more than avoiding evil; it required doing good where good was within reach.

In the classical world, Justice was the cornerstone of moral philosophy. Plato called it “the harmonious ordering of the soul.” Aristotle described it as “complete virtue in relation to others,” the bond that holds a community together. The Stoics regarded it as the highest expression of reason—the virtue that keeps one aligned with both nature and humanity.

Christian thought deepened the idea. To the prophets, justice was inseparable from mercy: “To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” For Thomas Aquinas, justice was the steady will to give each person their due. It was charity turned outward, love rendered social. Franklin’s version carries that same pulse: to live in harmony with others, both in restraint and in generosity.

But Franklin’s phrase also reveals a harder truth. Justice demands awareness not only of the harm we do, but of the good we withhold. It is possible to be unjust through omission—to withhold time, respect, or attention that another deserves. Sometimes we believe we are doing good by staying out of the way, when in reality we have denied someone the dignity of choice. The failure may be small, but it leaves a quiet imbalance between what we intend and what others experience.

Justice also asks that we speak when silence becomes complicity. Many wrongs endure because no one corrects a misunderstanding or defends what is true. There is a kind of moral courage in gentle correction, in choosing truth over comfort. Yet the same virtue also turns inward. It requires us to be just toward ourselves, to stop punishing or neglecting the person we have been entrusted to care for. Self-neglect is an inward injustice, and recovery begins with recognizing that justice applies within as much as without.

The daily work of justice is subtle. It grows through gratitude, prayer, and honest self-examination. These practices stretch the heart toward empathy and temper the will toward integrity. They help us see others not as opponents or instruments, but as fellow participants in the same story of restoration. Justice, in this sense, becomes less a public cause and more a personal covenant—to live truthfully, to act kindly, and to give each person, including ourselves, what is due.

Justice and the Modern Confusion of Fairness

Our age has traded the pursuit of justice for the pursuit of fairness, and in doing so has lost its moral compass. Fairness sounds virtuous—it promises balance and equality—but it is a pale imitation of justice. Fairness measures outcomes; justice measures what is right.

Fairness divides evenly, often without discernment. Justice distributes rightly, in proportion to truth, responsibility, and circumstance. A world governed only by fairness seeks sameness, while a world governed by justice seeks wholeness.

This obsession with fairness has shaped a culture that confuses equality with goodness. It resists distinction, overlooks effort, and often punishes excellence in the name of balance. In this way, fairness can become unjust. It flattens moral life and replaces personal virtue with collective entitlement.

The desire for fairness is not wrong, but when it becomes the highest good, it leads toward dependence rather than character. It leans toward the idea that systems, not souls, ensure moral order. Franklin—and the ancients before him—would have warned against that drift. Justice is not administered from above; it is practiced from within. It is a habit of conscience, not an instrument of policy.

Fairness belongs to systems; justice belongs to persons. The first can be mandated, the second must be chosen. Read more about justice and fairness in the companion article, Justice vs Fairness.

“Right is right even if nobody does it. Wrong is still wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

Key Aspects of Justice

• Moral Clarity: Justice seeks what is right, not what merely appears equal. It is rooted in discernment and conscience.
• Courageous Truthfulness: To act justly is to speak the truth gently when silence would wound.
• Mercy in Motion: Justice without mercy becomes rigid. Mercy without justice dissolves. The virtuous life holds both together.
• Right Relationship: The just person lives in proportion—with God, with others, and within their own soul.
• Restorative Intention: Justice aims to heal, not only to correct. It restores what imbalance has taken.

Examples in Practice

• A manager recognizes each person’s true contribution rather than dividing praise evenly.
• A spouse listens before assuming, choosing understanding over reaction.
• A friend clarifies a misunderstanding, not to win, but to restore trust.
• A neighbor intervenes when another is misjudged or ignored.
• A person honors their own limits, realizing that inner justice sustains outer integrity.

“There is a case for telling the truth; there is a case for avoiding the scandal; but there is no possible defense for the man who tells the scandal, but does not tell the truth.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

Developing the Virtue

1. Notice Injustice by Omission: Pay attention to what you withhold—time, encouragement, honesty. Justice begins with what you fail to give.
2. Practice Truthful Speech: When clarity is required, speak with humility and courage.
3. Be Just Toward Yourself: Replace self-condemnation with responsible care. Fairness toward oneself is not indulgence; it is restoration.
4. Strengthen Empathy: Gratitude and reflection expand your capacity to see others as they are.
5. Begin Each Day with Intention: Ask, Who or what depends on my justice today? Let that awareness shape your actions.

Practical Focus Map | Practicing Justice This Week

Sphere of Life	Area of Practice	Daily Habit or Reflection	Notes
Personal Integrity	Truth & Consistency	Speak truth with kindness; keep promises even in small matters.	Track moments of moral steadiness.
Work & Vocation	Right Action	Work diligently and transparently; honor both effort and outcome.	Ask: did my work contribute to what is right?
Relationships	Compassion & Courage	Respond with empathy; correct gently when truth requires it.	Reflect: did I act justly toward those closest to me?
Community	Service & Responsibility	Offer help where help is within reach. Participate in repair.	Look for one small act of restoration each day.
Inner Balance	Conscience & Grace	Be honest about fault but generous with mercy.	End each day with a brief examination of motive.

Closing Reflection

Justice begins in ordinary places—the conversation left unfinished, the apology offered, the truth spoken kindly. It is not the pursuit of fairness, but of rightness. It seeks proportion rather than parity, wholeness rather than sameness.

To live justly is to live awake to what is owed: to others, to oneself, and to the truth that binds both. It is to restore what neglect has taken and to act when action is due. Franklin’s simple command—“Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty”—calls us to that rhythm of responsibility. Justice is not an ideal reserved for courts or causes; it is a way of walking through the world with a steady and generous heart.

Franklin’s Virtues