The extension of the domain of the unjust

The concept of injustice, long considered a cardinal ill akin to disease, is undergoing a re-evaluation. Traditionally, injustice was understood as stemming from specific wrongful actions by identifiable culprits, a judge, a tyrant, or even a parent. This perspective implies that injustice requires a guilty party and inflicts a dual suffering: the pain of the harm itself, compounded by the sting of its unfair origin.

However, a newer conception is challenging this foundation by foregrounding 'systemic injustices.' This evolving view posits that a system can be unjust irrespective of individual malice or negligence. In this framework, any social structure that persistently disadvantages certain groups is deemed unjust, leading to paradoxical phrases such as 'racism without racists,' 'oppression without oppressors,' and 'sexism without sexists.'

This shift in understanding moves the focus from individual culpability to the inherent biases within social structures. It suggests that addressing injustice requires not only condemning wrongful acts but also scrutinizing and reforming the very systems that perpetuate inequality. The article, published in Le Temps, explores this nuanced and complex evolution of how we define and confront injustice in contemporary society.