SECTION TWO: ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL SYSTEM JUSTICE


SECTION TWO: ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL SYSTEM JUSTICE

Justice is an important value of the social system (detailed in Chapter Two, section two); it stems from humanity’s need for rationality. Justice is indispensable for the realization of the maximum value principle.

Whether or not the unified society has a just social system will be an important indicator of the overall value of the unified society. To assess the justice system of the unified society, we must analyze whether its social system is fair and reasonable from the perspective of all mankind. For a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis, we will separate justice into four aspects: general justice, group justice, individual justice, and intergenerational justice.

One: General Justice

In the country-based society, competition and conflict among nations often ends in war. As the supreme power of the society, the country’s primary consideration is often the prevention of invasion and the perpetuation of one’s own invasion. From the perspective of general justice, a social system should first guarantee the survival of humanity, but this is not the case in the country-based society. The social system of the country-based society is completely lacking in rationality.

It is the irrationality of the social system that often leads to the most advanced science and technology achievements being applied to war and destruction rather than the benefit of humanity. The competitive and antagonistic nature of inter-country rivalry means that countries can spare little thought for the happiness of the people when designing a social system. Instead, they will place competitive advantage as the priority of all policies and social systems.

We can see that most countries would rather expend large amounts of money on military expenditure instead of in support of the poor. This is obviously not conducive to the happiness of people. We can also see that countries often create a tense and competitive environment to motivate their people, which is also not conducive to happy living.

The unified society’s social system will be fundamentally different from that of countries. It will focus on safeguarding universal happiness, security, and survival. The rationality of the unified society’s social system will far exceed the rationality of today’s country-based social system.

Two: Group Justice

We say that all people are born equal regardless of region, color, age, and so on; however, we observe that with the same efforts, citizens of one country may earn one thousand US dollars while citizens of another country may only earn ten dollars; citizens of one country may enjoy good social welfare while citizens of another country may be forced to beg on the streets; citizens of one country may live in a democratic, open, and free political environment while citizens of another country may be ruled by an autocratic monarchy. Though we are all human, some ethnic groups are discriminated against while others can be as arrogant as they please. This is obviously unfair.

Since it is generally accepted that humans are born equal, people of all countries, ethnicities, and religions must share in equal human rights. This is the only fair definition of equal human rights in terms of group justice; however, achieving such a goal is impossible in a country-based society.

In the fully integrated unified society, all people will be governed by the same regime. They will enjoy the same kind of social welfare, the same political, economic, and cultural rights, and be obligated to fulfill the same responsibilities. Therefore, only the unified society will be able to truly realize equal human rights for all mankind.

Let us continue to analyze group justice from another perspective: one cannot sacrifice someone else’s life for one’s own, and one cannot base one’s own happiness on the suffering of others. This is a generally accepted basic moral code; however, human groups often violate this code.

War is the most typical and cruel act of group injustice. The country-based society has never been free of war. Larger countries plunder smaller countries all the time, robbing them of wealth and causing casualties on both sides. Although this phenomenon is inherently unjust, it is a basic component of the country-based society.

Terrorist attacks are similarly unjust. They are often perpetrated due to national, ethnic, and religious hatred. Many innocent lives are lost in the process. This is also a typical feature of the injustice of the country-based society.

The unified society will not be able to completely avoid war and terrorist attacks, but only reduce them as much as possible. Once countries, ethnicities, and religions are fully integrated and the society reaches a balanced level of affluence, war and terrorism will lose most of their motivation. In terms of group justice, the unified society will be far superior to the country based society.

Three: Individual Justice

As human individuals, the basic principles of justice include not stealing the property of others; not threatening the survival of others; not depriving others of happiness; not acting contrary to public moral standards; and not disrupting the harmony of society. It will be impossible for any society to require everyone to meet the basic principles of justice. Every society will have people who violate public morals and laws; however, in comparison with the country-based society, the unified society will be able to minimize individual injustice.

Needless to say, countries will emphasize and vigorously promote the demand for individual justice in the hopes of achieving social stability and harmony, but the basic characteristics of the country-based society determine that even while countries advocate and defend individual justice, they are simultaneously diluting and collapsing individual justice.

In human society, there are three powerful agents that motivate mass destruction: nationality, ethnicity, and religion. These three forces simultaneously coexist in the country-based society, and as a result, war and terrorism follow. The general environment will imperceptibly affect every person living in it, and humans have always been especially accustomed to imitating and learning from example. When countries with inherently unjust forces in them ask for individual justice from their own people, the hypocrisy of the situation will generate very limited results.

In addition, countries will often advocate values like bravery, risk-taking, and innovation to promote their competitive advantage; however, these values may be interpreted in negative ways. People may bravely commit robbery, take risks to commit homicide, or use the latest and most advanced means to carry out their crimes.

For the above reasons, the country-based society will often have high crime rates, and a high portion of people will choose to violate public morals. These are all manifestations of individual injustice.

This situation will be changed drastically in the unified society. With the demise of countries and the integration of ethnicities and religions, the most formidable forces of antagonism will have vanished. The unified society will not only be able to formulate a system of individual justice but will also be qualified to set the example for the principles of justice.

The unified society aims to create a “peaceful, friendly, and non-competitive” environment. This will greatly mediate interpersonal relationships within the society. Coupled with an atmosphere of general affluence, the unified society will easily achieve lower crime rates and better compliance with public moral values; thus, the individual justice of the unified society will far supersede that of the country-based society.

Four: Intergenerational Justice

Humans may be able to survive for a long time to come, but the earth’s resources are limited. If we deplete these resources today, we will seriously affect the survival and happiness of the future generations. That would no doubt be a shameful and immoral act, yet we are already acting in such an irresponsible manner. Our uncontrolled exploitation of non-renewable resources is causing serious resource depletion; over-farming of the land and overgrazing of the grasslands are leading to desertification; deforestation is leading to soil erosion, water scarcity, and loss of biodiversity. We are making the planet less and less suitable for human existence, thus increasingly endangering the interests of future generations.

Humans have long been aware of these issues, and the United Nations has exerted much effort to prevent these behaviors. Unfortunately, no substantial results have been obtained. The fierce competition between countries often makes it difficult for country leaders to consider the interests of future generations—especially when they are still occupied with the interests of the current generation.

In contrast, the unified society will represent all mankind, regardless of the generational divide. In the non-competitive environment, the unified society will be able to rationally plan the affairs of humanity. The achievement of equalized wealth and sufficiency will also make it easier to resolve resource issues, environmental issues, and population issues. Both the direct value realization assessment and the indirect social system justice assessment prove the unified society to be more advantageous than the county-based society.

The only impediment of the unified society will be the decrease of material enjoyment brought on by the limitation of science and technology development; however, as a mere subcategory of the happiness value, this type of material enjoyment cannot obscure the bigger picture. Contemporary material enjoyment is often accompanied by intense mental pressure, which in turn lessens the feelings of happiness. The sacrifice of this material enjoyment is to guarantee the overall survival of mankind—a cause far greater than all else; thus, from this point of departure alone, we can ascertain that the unified society is far more beneficial to humanity than the country-based society.

The significance of the unified society is far more than this. Its guarantee of universal happiness for all generations is unparalleled, and the country based society cannot begin to compare with the quality of life that the unified society can offer. In all ways, the unified society is an undoubtedly ideal society.

Our original intention for the unified society was to prevent human extinction; however, a series of analysis has revealed the unified society to be the most ideal society in accordance with the maximum value principle. Therefore, the social choice that humans must make is now completely aligned with the most ideal choice that humans can make.