The Faces of Injustice

In three lectures given at Yale in 1988, Shklar breaks down what we mean by the concept of injustice — which is a lot broader than just “the opposite of justice” — looks at the complicated relationship between injustice and misfortune, and looks at the importance of a sense of injustice as a political instrument in shaping the societies we live in.

She argues — in prose that is almost scarily clear and accessible to non-philosophers — that instead of getting hung up on what makes the perpetrators of injustice interesting (tyrants, criminals, abusers of public office and those of us who aren’t prepared to stand up and do our duty as citizens), we need to focus on the experience of those who experience injustice, whether as show more victims or as concerned fellow citizens. Listening to those who feel they have a grievance needs to be a key part of democratic decision making. In a world where there is inequality, judges or political leaders can never entirely avoid disappointing the expectations of some people when they do something (or fail to do something), but at least they can try to respect the rights of all parties to be heard, and the voice of the weak should count for more than the voice of the strong (although it won’t, of course). show less

Shklar's writing is enlightening and profound, but was often difficult to read and understand. The material itself, however, is gold. Her exploration of misfortune and injustice are deep and enlightening.

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