justness

Justness is the quality or state of being just, encompassing moral rightness, fairness, and righteousness in conduct, judgment, and institutions. In ethical discourse, it denotes adherence to principles of fair treatment, impartiality, and respect for rights, often requiring consideration of others’ circumstances and the impact of one's actions.

Scholars distinguish several interrelated dimensions of justness. Distributive justice concerns the fair allocation of benefits and burdens among members of a society. Procedural justice focuses on the fairness of the processes by which decisions are reached, including transparency, consistency, and the opportunity to be heard. Social or global justice broadens the scope to the fair distribution of resources, opportunities, and power across communities and nations. Moral justness, meanwhile, relates to virtuous character and therightness of actions themselves, independent of outcomes.

In law, justness is linked to the rule of law, due process, and equal protection under circumstances, with the aim that legal rules be applied in a manner that is fair, predictable, and free from bias. In normative ethics, theories differ on what constitutes just actions: deontological approaches emphasize duties and rights; consequentialist perspectives stress outcomes; virtue ethics highlights character and moral development.

Cultural, historical, and political contexts influence notions of justness, leading to debates about universality versus relativity and about how best to correct injustices. Critics may argue that calls for justice can mask power dynamics or impose particular values, while advocates contend that robust concepts of justness provide standards for evaluating laws, policies, and everyday conduct.