What is justice if not just another word for vengeance? The legal system should focus more on rehabilitation than punishment.

**Justice is the most important requirement for society in that justice is the strongest and most morally convincing force that maintains the social relationships that, in their aggregate, define the very essence of society.** Although there is no scholarly consensus on the definition of society, most sociologists agree that society entails a persistent and constant interactions from individual to individual, and the sum of all of these interactions and rapport contribute to what we deem a society. In other words, for society to continue to operate, these interactions must be guarded for and must be conducted in such a way such that individuals are willing to stay in the society. Thomas Hobbes, in his work _Leviathan_, posited his famous notion of "a war of all against all", which he believes to the natural, pre-societal state of humanity. He writes that "To this warre of every man against every man, this also is consequent; that nothing can be Unjust." This serves a good example of a society without justice: without justice — no reward for virtue, no punishment for wrongdoings — there will be no deterrence for individuals to undermine his own and others' social interactions. In order for society to preserve its order and its persistent social interactions, there must be a system that punishes those who seek to undermine the existing social interactions. David Hume further augments on this claim. In his _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals_, he writes that in a society characterized by neither great abundance not extreme poverty, "justice derives its usefulness to the public: And hence alone arises its merit and moral obligation." Both Hume and Hobbes agree that justice is a cornerstone to society for the same reason: justice is vital in ensuring that social interactions contribute to the good of mankind and that good social interactions are preserved and bad social interactions punished.

**Justice is very important in society, but can we say that it is THE MOST important requirement for society.** - ‘the most’ means that it requires us to contend that is the greatest and most important quality and moral value we can have in society above all others. Whilst I believe it is a fundamental requirement for society, I can’t argue that it to be the case that it is the most important. - There are many other things in society that are important, this is shown for one through the arguments under the [ethics of care.]( https://iep.utm.edu/care-eth/) - The general underpinning theme of care ethics is a move from a focus on justice to a focus on care. ‘Both charged traditional moral approaches with male bias and asserted the “voice of care” as a legitimate alternative to the “justice perspective” of liberal human rights theory.’ - The ethics of care can be primarily traced back to the work of Carol Gilligan. Initially, her work was a reaction and critique to Lawrence Kohlberg and his stages of moral development where he concluded boys tended to have a higher moral development than girls. He set out some abstract ethical rules based of an ethics of justice reasoning. -[‘ justice reasoning seeks a universally applicable solution that can be applied to all similar cases, whereas care reasoning represents a particularistic mode of moral thinking that is based on the full description of the case at hand.]( https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477750919876250) This is not to deny the importance of justice but to say it is the most important undermines other moral values that are important, as exemplified through care ethicists.

**Justice is an extremely important feature of society, but who am I to rank it as the most important?** • I have a real passion for social justice and wholeheartedly agree that it is an important requirement for society. But I don’t know if I would make it the _most_ important because there are other elements of significance, like equality, tolerance, freedom, security. • Justice is important because it is about enforcing the law and managing public order. This extends to preventing, controlling, and punishing crime - all essential components for the formation of a civilised society. We must have law and order; _anarchy does not work_. • Otherwise described as [“fairness in the way people are dealt with”]( https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/justice), justice is about upholding the law and committing to the principles that build a society. This is important. • But and it’s a big but - justice does not mean the same thing everywhere, nor does it come with the same assumptions and consequences. For example, in parts of the US, the death penalty is used in the name of ‘justice’, and I cannot agree that this is ok or acceptable. Similarly, being gay is still not ok in many parts of the world, and as a result can come with some awful punishments again in the name of ‘justice’. • It is for this reason that I cannot fully get behind this argument. For me, justice is important - but that’s easier for me to say when I live in a democratic country with free speech. This is not the same for everyone, so I can’t claim that justice is the most important requirement for _all_ societies when some countries abuse the trust and moral responsibilities that come with the administration of justice.