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Wellsprings
politics

Justice in the City

δικαιοσύνη

When everyone does their own proper work and no one meddles in another's, the city itself becomes just.

Dikaiosyne, or justice, was understood by Aristotle as the virtue that holds a city together through proper ordering. Rather than a single quality, it divides into two forms: distributive justice, which allocates honors and resources according to merit, and corrective justice, which restores balance when one citizen wrongs another. For Aristotle, justice means each person performing the social role for which they are naturally suited, creating harmony throughout the polis.

In practice, this framework governed how cities actually functioned. When distributing public office or wealth, leaders had to consider what people deserved based on their contributions and abilities. Similarly, when disputes arose between citizens—a contract broken or an injury inflicted—corrective justice aimed not to punish harshly but to restore equilibrium, making whole what had been disturbed. This two-sided approach made justice less about abstract fairness and more about concrete social stability.

Where this idea shows up

288 Greek sources

Where to read it