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About this quote

What does it mean?
Justice is the foundational rule of civilized life. When it is ignored, there is no real order left.
In plain terms
Justice keeps society working, and without it, nothing else matters.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize justice to maintain social order.

Where it applies

  • legal reform
  • policy making
  • governance

Putting it to work

  • evaluate laws by justice
  • check government actions
  • support fair courts

Questions to consider

  • When does ignoring justice harm society most?
  • How do we define justice today?

Another view

Sometimes expedience outweighs justice in real-world politics.

More from Edmund Burke

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  3. It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardl…

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