Retributive Justice vs Restorative Justice

Before we discuss different justice systems, let us first attempt to understand what justice is.

Justice is what the society has decided to be what right is. It is generally based on the society’s ideas around ethics, rationality, law, equity, and sometimes even religion. While it may not apply in all cases, the word is generally interchanged with fairness as used in common parlance.

Retributive justice and restorative justice are two of the theories of justice that humanity, as a whole, has considered to universally define justice.

If you saw the video above, retributive justice is defined on the basis of suffering. That is, anyone who does any wrong must be punished as much as they made others suffer. In other words, we punish people because that is what they deserve for their wrongdoing.

Restorative justice on the other hand is defined on the basis of rehabilitation. That is, criminals are deemed to be people who need help. So, instead of punishing them, they must be treated so that, as the name implies, they can be restored to society to become productive members thereof.

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