Edited by: Anthony J.W. Taylor. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2006.   ISBN: 1-59454-915-X

The contributors to Justice as a Basic Human Need approach the theme stated in the title from different  disciplines and perspectives. Nevertheless, each of the essays underscore the importance of experiences of justice in the development of healthy individuals and communities.

In chapter one, Anthony Taylor sets the stage by discussing different conceptions of justice and his personal experiences of working with those who have been victimised.

In chapter two, Charles Tolman explores what makes us human and how the conditions for our humanity reside in conceptions of justice and fairness. He presents five arguments pointing toward justice as a need:

• Our humanity is experienced in social relationships and is therefore a social construct.  As such, humanity is more of a potential than a reality.
• Participation in social practices reflects intentional action on the part of an individual.
• Individual action reflects agency, “the power to act according to known interests (p. 14).” This agency can either further or retard an individual’s potential development.
• Individual actions are in turn open to moral judgement.
  
• Without fairness or justice, it is impossible to realize a healthy community or moral agency.

Christopher Marshall follows with an exploration of Biblical teachings on justice. He considers how the concept of 'justice is innate to human beings while often causing disagreement on what is 'just' in a specific situation, describes key concepts of justice, and concludes with comments on how the Biblical text defines justice. 

In chapter four, Paul Jose looks at justice from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. He says, “To be able to make an accurate judgement of whether one has been treated fairly by others confers an evolutionary advantage. Thus, I believe it is fair to argue that a motivation to achieve a sense of justice is basic for the human species.”

Chapters five, six, and seven explore issues related to criminal justice. Lynne Eccleston and Tony Ward discuss punishment and the rehabilitation of offenders, briefly reviewing restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, and the ‘Good Lives’ model of offender rehabilitation.

David Wrexler follows with a more detailed description of therapeutic jurisprudence. He describes how a lawyer may work from a therapeutic perspective, focusing on the needs of offenders, touching on issues of compliance, relapse prevention, and desistance. He concludes with a description of how courts can function in a therapeutic framework.

Gabrielle Maxwell and Allison Morris follow with a discussion of restorative justice. They begin by contrasting restorative justice from the criminal justice system and describe restorative practices in New Zealand: family group conferencing with juvenile offenders, community panels, and court-referred restorative conferencing for adult offenders. In summarizing research on these interventions, the authors highlight critical elements of conferences that are seen to lead to lower reoffending rates and more positive outcomes:

• Being fully involved in the decisions
• Not being shamed by the process
• Feeling remorse
• Making amends
• Feeling supported and receiving forgiveness
• Experiencing outcomes that contribute to reintegration (p.81)

Returning to the general conversation about justice, Ronald Fischer and Linda Skitka look at the literature on social-psychological theories related to justice. They highlight eight insights from this literature:

• Justice is an important subjective phenomenon.
• People have a need to believe in a just world.
• Outcomes, procedures and treatment impact perceptions of justice.
• Perceptions of justice are important for both individuals and groups.
• People care about justice for a number of different reasons.
• Feelings of injustice are tied to notions of accountability and blame.
• Justice judgements are formed through social comparisons.
• Justice judgements are shaped by cultural values. (p. 85).
  

In chapter nine Palmer Reg Grovwuje and Anthony Taylor explore the complex issue of mental health services and oppression. They review the historical development of the intellectual environment of the European Enlightenment and Age of reason and show how this paved the way for widespread exclusion and abuse of the rights of the mentally ill. They also review the development of basic human rights and explore how the emergence of strong family supports and mental health support groups combine with some aspects of consumerism to create changes in this sphere.

Chapters ten, eleven and twelve discuss issues of torture, justice and human rights. Jeffrey Sluka discusses cross-cultural conceptions of justice and how human rights abuses are experienced as oppression by victims. He explores the connection between human rights abuses and growing instances of violence, including war, state terror, and international terrorism.

Paul Burns, in turn, discusses the historical and social contexts of torture. He describes the experience of torture, from the pre-seizure stage to post-release.  He suggests ‘testimony therapy’ as an effective mechanism for helping torture survivors reconstruct their experiences in a way that respects their needs and desires. He goes on to outline a process for restoration.

Andrew Ladley rounds out the discussion on human rights by exploring the various international instruments addressing the issue. He asks why there is a need for such documents when issues of human dignity seem to be self evident. His answer lies in historical instances of human rights abuses and how no society or culture group in history is free of committing such abuses. He states, “My argument is that the potential for doing harm to others is, alas, universal. So it follows, must be the remedy, if there is one. In fact, all human beings, in all cultures have very good historical reason for being nervous about other human beings …” 

In the final chapter, Taylor turns to the task of fitting ‘justice’ into Maslow’s conception of human needs. He discusses theories related to justice and human behaviour. He follows by outlining what Maslow himself had to say in relation to justice and fairness. He finishes with a proposition for how justice fits into basic human needs and how researchers might go about validating the value of including justice in the listing of basic human needs.


Lynette Parker
December 2007