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By Abel Merawi
October 18, 2020 (Ezega.com) – I will begin our current speech with John Rawls and his idea of ’veil of ignorance’ when discussing justice and fairness. Imagine standing behind a veil or curtain that makes you ignorant of your identity. You are behind this curtain, unaware of your physical, mental, social, religious and economic condition that are part of your identity. You don’t know your gender; you don’t know your family and their social status. He doesn’t even know his mental capacity and the special abilities he possesses. Racial or ethnic identity has yet to be discovered, so he continues to ignore those affiliations. The same ignorance prevails regarding your financial situation, so there is the possibility that you will end up homeless without a penny or a billionaire with power. Suppose you don’t even have an idea of your religion. The list can go on indefinitely, so I humbly ask you to include everything that you think expresses your identity.
In this “veil of ignorance,” John Rawls implores us to do the most difficult task: formulate laws. Can you create a law that manifests justice and fairness? I would like to point out that it does not have to be a single law that addresses all social realities. However, it has to include an extra clause that incorporates all the possible realities that we face as human beings. In this way, anyone with a disability who requires additional support will not be neglected. Remember, after writing the law, you will come out of this ignorance to face reality. You could end up being a man or a woman. Your family may be rich or poor, criminal or law abiding; or worse, you may be an orphan. In terms of race, you may belong to a minority or a politically and socially dominant ethnic group. Economically, you may find yourself in unimaginable poverty or in superfluous abundance. Religiously, you could belong to one of the sects, or you could be an atheist or a polytheist. So? What could it be? What would be the law that you will accept as fair and equitable under any circumstances?
It is true that the ‘veil of ignorance’ is non-existent, but we must remember the injustice in the laws that are based on personal identity. In our times, is justice blind to personal prejudices? Have we not done justice not only to the eyes, but also to the stereotypical magnifying glasses? Do we demand justice for all or segregated? Are we not looking for a justice that serves our personal affiliations, a justice that protects and serves only our personal, social, economic and even political identity? Erich Fromm in his book ‘For the love of life’ proclaims: “Anyone who loves only one person does not really love any”. The same is true of justice, which disappears as prejudice flourishes. It is very sad to witness the pain that people feel for their own suffering and the cold indifference or even the cruelty towards others. This is what I call segregated justice: a wicked game of favoritism.
I affirm with great regret that we no longer demand justice, but rather manipulate this noble ideal in an interested way. We have no intolerance of injustice; rather, as Dr. Cornel West points out, we are “well adapted to injustice” as long as it does not affect us. We no longer feel human suffering because we have classified people into carefully labeled groups. Most of the time, it is not the written law, but our superficial demands for it that creates this segregated justice. Perhaps the idea will gain clarity as we cite concrete examples both in our country and in the world.
The world does not lack suffering; it just lacks defenders. We hear on the news about innocent people dying every day in some corner of the world, but their cries are not heard in an indifferent world. The Middle East is an excellent example of Western tolerance for injustice. After bombing an entire city in Iraq or participating in an indirect war in Syria, the only time Westerners feel the pain is when an American soldier dies. What makes the life of an American soldier more valuable than that of child victims of war in the Middle East remains a mystery to me. Let’s bring the problem home and examine the current anomaly in Ethiopia. The various political parties that seem enemies to each other have more in common than we often suspect. I will avoid insulting mainly because I do not see any difference between the parties showing partial sympathy. Just assume that groups A, B, C, etc. they are ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Group A observes the suffering of its members, but ignores the sufferings of B and C. With a naive conviction of justice, the leader of group A cries out for justice, and the same happens with the leaders of B and C. However, each one group remains deaf to the suffering of the other and even blames them. Each group demands a better economic, political and social status with contempt and even at the expense of the others. Everyone has forgotten the big picture: the suffering of any group in a country demands a national call for justice.
In our pursuit of segregated justice, we represent our group as noble and neglect our own contribution to injustice. Erich Fromm argues: “As long as we are unwilling to make ‘confessions of national guilt’, we will continue our old ways, keeping an eye on the crimes of our enemies but remaining blind to the crimes of our own people.” Injustice remains the same for every human being, identity will not make it more or less significant. We will take the blame for the suffering of any individual or group and demand justice and equity for all.
To live up to the meaning of justice, we must heed the advice of John Rawls mentioned above. We must formulate laws that strive to ensure justice and equity for all. Children in Palestine are human beings who cry like me and smile like me. The main problem stems from confusing political reality with natural reality. On ‘The Fire Next Time’, the great African-American intellect commented superbly: “Color is not a human or personal reality; it is a political reality ”. Once we forget this fundamental truth, we can only conceive of partial justice, leading to injustice. The way I see it, the suffering of injustice is a universal human reality, and the relief of suffering and justice will also be universal.
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Abel merawi is an Addis Abeba contributor for Ezega.com. You can contact him through this form.
Other items from Abel merawi:
Creativity
Free but Chained, Part IV: Personal Bondage
Free but on Chain. Part III: Economic Slavery
Free but on Chain. Part II: Social Slavery
Free but on Chain. Part I: The Slavery of the Worldview
Unemployment and economic growth in Ethiopia
Human ignorance underrated
Is America the land of the free? (Part II)
Is America the land of the free? (Part I)
Capitalism becomes an impediment to morality
Ketman: Living in Disguise to Win Acceptance
The system and the ‘criminal’
Trust as an economic force
Do you trust the government?
Our online world
Fame confused with expertise
The heavy burden of health workers
A time to reflect
Albert Camus’s Plague: Fiction Becomes Reality!
History of pandemics in Ethiopia
The Human Fight Against Pandemics: Historical Perspective
Crisis speculators
You can make the difference
Rule of law for a free society
Adwa
The origins of law
Determinants of Market Value: Part II
Determinants of Market Value: Part I
Your life matters too
Manifestations of artistic expression
Achievements vs natural accidents
The sacrificial grip
Injustice is never justifiable
The educational demands of the future
Job security, life and an unpredictable future
The shift from racism to bodybuilding
Sacrifice meaning for power?
Cultural and market forces
Intersubjective reality
Searching for cosmic justice
National myths: makers and destroyers of nations
Are we truly free?
Maturity: the prerequisite for freedom and democracy
Loyalty to the truth, not the group
The value of work
The shortcomings of the Ethiopian political system
Intellectuals and people
Where are our conquerors?
The Allegory of the Cave and Its Lessons for Leaders
The truth behind humanity
The seven virtues
The seven capital sins
What is the right thing to do?
Building national identity
Adey Abeba and the spirit of change
Street violence
Living the truth as a human being
Hubris: the tragedy of not learning from others
The Age of Group Mentality: Us vs. Them
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