Lex Tallionis

In my opinion, one of the main goals of our class thus far has been to place a distinction between right and wrong, the good and the bad, and just and unjust, through the study of several philosophers. Recently, through a more critical examination of texts other than those assigned by Dr. Johnson, I have found that it has been a common endeavor throughout history to give the term justice a precise meaning.

For instance, the book of Exodus in the Hebrew bible offers a prime example of antiquity’s views on justice. “Lex tallionis,” is principle of retaliation as punishment for infringing on the rights of others and the practice of people in the Exodus story. In the recitation of Hebrew laws, it is stated that “if any harm follows [after the crime], then you [the wrongdoer] shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe”(Exodus 21.23 NRSV). These views correlate to those of Mill who describes justice as relying on two main components: the desire to punish a person who had done wrong and the notion that there is an identifiable victim who suffers if a right or justice is infringed upon.

It can be argued that the laws in place during this part of Hebrew history were “laws of the street” in which citizens were forced to become self-interested creatures in order to survive. Violent retribution plaguing the stories of Exodus supports the fact that as humans we crave to right a wrong even if the only way to right that wrong is through another wrong. This gives way to an unending cycle of violence. These ideas can be viewed as a constant righting of a wrong, but at what point is justice served?

In class we are beginning to address the downfalls of capitalism via the communistic views of Marx. Growing up in a capitalist world, it is a given that we are taught to be competitive and in a way aggressive towards our peers. In this way is capitalism promoting the return to “street laws” where individuals have no choice but to take matters into their own hands? Is the justice system we respect limited by the viewpoint that everyone is a competitor? Can this possibly be an origin of corruptness in our legal system in which innocent people are subjected to unfair punishment?