NCJ Number
86490
Journal
Corrective and Social Psychiatry and Journal of Behavior Technology Methods and Therapy Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: (1982) Pages: 68-73
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This essay suggests a concept of justice that may be used by a counselor in dealing with an offender who denies the legitimacy of the political-legal system and the cultural values on which it is based.
Abstract
Ackerman (1980) has offered a model of justice, which he calls Liberalism, which goes far in dealing with offenders who deny the legitimacy of the system that has judged and punished them. Ackerman begins by admitting that he cannot establish any a priori moral principles. The system he constructs depends on the willingness of those involved to adopt the basic values of (1) neutrality (nobody is any better than anybody else or has more of a claim on the world's resources than anyone else), (2) rationality (all power or claims to resources must be justified by reasons consistent with 'neutrality'), and (3) consistency (a reason given at one time must not contradict reasons given at other times). Under Ackerman's model, crime is essentially behavior that violates some aspect of neutrality. The offender may argue, however, that his action was an effort to create neutrality by eliminating a personal deprivation that made him less wealthy or powerful than the persons victimized. In such a case, the counselor can argue that other persons are not permitted to obtain resources by force, so why should he have special privileges (an argument from the concept of neutrality). This argument does not justify the exploitation of certain groups in society but rather argues for just means of dealing with injustice. Thirty-nine references are listed.