第45章

Andifwesaythattheheinousnessofthecrimedependsonthelossofhappinessthatwouldgenerallybecausedbysuchactsiftheywereallowedtogounpunished，andthatwemustsupposethecriminaltobeawareofthis；weseemtobeendeavouringtoforceautilitariantheoryintoanintuitionalformbymeansofalegalfiction。

Wehavehithertospokenofintentionalwrong-doing:

butpositivelawawardspunishmentalsoforharmthatisduetorashnessornegligence；andthejustificationofthisinvolvesusinfurtherdifficulties。

Somejuristsseemtoregardrashnessandnegligenceaspositivestatesofmind，inwhichtheagentconsciouslyrefusestheattentionorreflectionwhichheknowsheoughttogive；andnodoubtthissortofwilfulrecklessnessdoessometimesoccur，andseemsasproperlypunishableasiftheresultingharmhadbeenpositivelyintended。Butthelawasactuallyadministereddoesnotrequireevidencethatthiswastheagent’sstateofmind(whichindeedinmostcasesitwouldbeimpossibletogive):butiscontentwithproofthattheharmmighthavebeenpreventedbysuchcareasanaveragemanwouldhaveshownunderthecircumstances。Andmostcommonlyby`carelessness’

wesimplymeanapurelynegativepsychologicalfact，i。e。thattheagentdidnotperformcertainprocessesofobservationorreflection；itisthereforeatthetimestrictlyinvoluntary，andsoscarcelyseemstoinvolveill-desert。Itmaybesaidperhapsthatthoughthepresentcarelessnessisnotblameworthy，thepastneglecttocultivatehabitsofcareisso。

Butinmanyindividualinstanceswecannotreasonablyinfereventhispastneglect；andinsuchcasestheutilitariantheoryofpunishment，whichregardsitasameansofpreventingsimilarharmfulactsinthefuture，seemsaloneapplicable。Similardifficultiesarise，aswasbeforehinted(p。282)，indeterminingthelimitswithinwhichReparationisdue；thatis，ontheviewthatitisnotincumbentonustomakecompensationforallharmcausedbyourmuscularactions，butonlyforharmwhich-ifnotintentional-wasduetoourrashnessornegligence。

TheresultsofthisexaminationofJusticemaybesummedupasfollows。TheprominentelementinJusticeasordinarilyconceivedisakindofEquality:thatis，Impartialityintheobservanceorenforcementofcertaingeneralrulesallottinggoodoreviltoindividuals。Butwhenwehaveclearlydistinguishedthiselement，weseethatthedefinitionofthevirtuerequiredforpracticalguidanceisleftobviouslyincomplete。Inquiringfurtherfortherightgeneralprinciplesofdistribution，wefindthatourcommonnotionofJusticeincludes——besidestheprincipleofReparationforinjury——twoquitedistinctanddivergentelements。Theone，whichwemaycallConservativeJustice，isrealised(1)intheobservanceofLawandContractsanddefiniteunderstandings，andintheenforcementofsuchpenaltiesfortheviolationoftheseashavebeenlegallydeterminedandannounced；and(2)inthefulfilmentofnaturalandnormalexpectations。Thislatterobligation，however，isofasomewhatindefinitekind。Buttheotherelement，whichwehavecalledIdealJustice，isstillmoredifficulttodefine；forthereseemtobetwoquitedistinctconceptionsofit，embodiedrespectivelyinwhatwehavecalledtheIndividualisticandtheSocialisticIdealsofapoliticalcommunity。ThefirstofthesetakestherealisationofFreedomastheultimateendandstandardofrightsocialrelations:butonexaminingitcloserwefindthatthenotionofFreedomwillnotgiveapracticablebasisforsocialconstructionwithoutcertainarbitrarydefinitionsandlimitations:

andevenifweadmitthese，stillasocietyinwhichFreedomisrealisedasfarasisfeasibledoesnotcompletelysuitoursenseofJustice。Primafacie，thisismoresatisfiedbytheSocialisticIdealofDistribution，foundedontheprincipleofrequitingDesert:butwhenwetrytomakethisprincipleprecise，wefindourselvesagaininvolvedingravedifficulties；

andsimilarperplexitiesbesettheworkingoutofrulesofCriminalJusticeonthesameprinciple。

InthediscussionofJusticethemoralobligationsofobediencetoLawandobservanceofContracthavebeenincluded，andhave，indeed，appearedtobethemostdefinitepartofth