Justice
The fundamental purpose of justice has always been to protect the internal stability of a society by preventing and punishing actions that could destabilize the dominant worldview.
In the worldview of State Awareness, justice is focused on protecting the power of the elites. Severe punishments act as a fear-based deterrent for stabilizing the power of the ruling aristocracy. Torture as a means of getting to the truth is considered acceptable. Instantaneous punishment by death and physical maiming are common practice in the worldview of State Awareness.
In the worldview of Nation Awareness, justice is focused on supporting moral righteousness. Courts are made up of religious or high-ranking State officials. This leaves the courts open to manipulation by the elites. In this worldview, the elites tend to get less severe punishments than the common people. The ultimate punishment in this worldview is the death penalty.
In the worldview of Wealth Awareness, justice is focused on moral and economic fairness. Justice is administered by independent courts and suitably qualified citizens who decide on the outcome of a trial. Punishment for serious crimes can include heavy fines and long periods of incarceration. There is no capital punishment in nations that operate from the worldview of Wealth Awareness.
In the worldview of People Awareness, justice is also focused on moral and economic fairness; even though punishments involve fines and/or incarceration, a strong emphasis is placed on rehabilitation so that wrongdoers can reintegrate into society and recidivism is reduced. There is no capital punishment in the worldview of People Awareness.
In the worldview of Humanity Awareness, there is a recognition that people commit crimes because of the psychological conditioning they experienced during their childhood and teenage years. The focus of the justice system is restoring people to wholeness. All those who commit crimes in the worldview of Humanity Awareness undergo a psychological evaluation and are helped and supported in their psychological rehabilitation. Every prisoner is assigned a mentor/coach – someone they can turn to for support as they attempt to individuate and self-actualize.
A key component of the justice system in Humanity Awareness will be inter-generational fairness – a shift from a focus on societal short-term gains to long-term benefits that support both people and the environment. For this to happen, we must encourage long-term social and environmental investing; and, most importantly, we must give the young a voice in key decision-making. Theirs is the future; they must have a say on the world we are creating (see the section on Governance).
