I used to think a bit more along those kind of nihilistic lines of “there’s no justice in the universe”. But that means that any justice that does exist, is the justice that we have imposed on it. And that’s pretty powerful.
Terry Pratchett captured it well in death’s speech.
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
“So we can believe the big ones?”
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
“They’re not the same at all!”
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME…SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—”
MY POINT EXACTLY.
Justice is a communal lie. It doesn’t exist. Yet, but believing it it, we can make it real.
I used to think a bit more along those kind of nihilistic lines of “there’s no justice in the universe”. But that means that any justice that does exist, is the justice that we have imposed on it. And that’s pretty powerful.
Terry Pratchett captured it well in death’s speech.
Justice is a communal lie. It doesn’t exist. Yet, but believing it it, we can make it real.