556 Justice, Equity, and Fairness in Human Relations
victims’ claims to retribution, at least in the case of those vic-
tims who have no doubts as to the guilt of the defendant.
Many such victims experience an acquittal or a light sentence
by the judges as a secondary victimization (Orth, 2000) after
the state was not able to protect them from primary victim-
ization by the crime.
Underserved Welfare Benefits
The fact that an ostensibly indolent unemployed father prof-
its from the generous welfare benefits accorded to his family
is unjust. It may be justified, however, by the constitutional
guarantee of equal opportunity for all citizens: The children’s
opportunities have to be safeguarded, and they are not re-
sponsible for their father’s unemployment. Furthermore, the
economic system does not allow the father to be forcibly
employed. The assessment of justice requires looking at the
social system as a whole, and (frequently) considering which
of several injustices is to be less tolerable.
State Subsidies to Business
Subsidizing uncompetitive business sectors aids those
employed in these sectors and thus can be justified by the
principle of need; but it may hinder modernization. Subsidies
for preservation instead of investment in the future can place
a mortgage on the future and a burden on the next generation.
Every instance of subsidization by means of public funds that
has no sustainable effect is an injustice to the needs of the
next generation. The concerns of the next generation should
carry the same weight as those of the present generation.
In political conflicts, the principle of preserving acquired
rights is frequently asserted. In the spring of 1997, coal miners
in Germany took to the streets to force a continuation of the
hitherto-granted government subsidies, which consisted of
about LSD 55000-per job position per year. If an equal amount
of subsidy had been demanded to create new jobs for all the
four million unemployed persons searching for jobs (the un-
employment rate was 10.4%), that would have required the en-
tire federal budget. Applying the equality principle of justice
in this conflict would have demonstrated the injustice of a one-
sided application of the principle of acquired rights preserva-
tion and would have undercut the miners’ demands.
Pension Systems on a Transfer Basis
The current pension system in Germany raises at least two
justice problems. First, with the current shift in the age pyra-
mid, the younger generations can no longer be guaranteed that
they will receive a pension of an equal ratio to their
contributions as currently is paid to the pensioners; this is tan-
tamount to an exploitation of the younger generation. Second,
parents with children are exploited by the pension system in-
sofar as their investments in time and money in the develop-
ment and education of their children represent an essential
contribution for the future performance capabilities of the pen-
sion system, but the parents do not receive equitable financial
compensation for their investments. In addition, if they reduce
their paid work to save time for caring for their children, as
mothers frequently do, their own pensions will be lowered.What Is Unjust and What Would Be Just?It is much easier to reveal injustices than it is to establish jus-
tice within complex social systems. Pointing to imbalances is
not yet a generally accepted solution. As justice conflicts and
justice dilemmas become apparent, the question is how they
may be resolved. There are several approaches to avoid or to
settle justice conflicts and to resolve justice dilemmas:- Just procedures in decision making help to avoid creating
feelings and perceptions of injustice. - When more than one principle of justice is valid in a case,
a mixed application of principles would be helpful to
avoid gross imbalances. - Mediation methods can settle justice conflicts in which
(ideally) all concerned have a guided discourse about all
issues and perspectives at stake and have a chance to find
a mutually accepted solution.
These approaches are outlined next. It should become obvi-
ous that justice is a personal and social construction.AVOIDING AND SETTLING JUSTICE CONFLICTSProcedural JusticeGiven the broad spectrum of options for appraising, con-
structing, and realizing justice in the various fields of social
life, conflicts about justice are unavoidable. How can these
conflicts be settled? How can peace be preserved? One answer
is to ensure fair decision-making—using procedures that are
broadly accepted as just within the population (Luhmann,
1983). This solution holds for parliamentary procedures, elec-
tions, institutional decisions, decisions of courts, arbitration,
and decisions of other authorities. The separation of powers
is a crucial element in the appraisal of justice in a given
society—this includes the right to appeal against decisions of
authorities, also against institutional and parliamentary deci-
sions in administrative and constitutional courts.