The value of a state
maintain law and order; but, as Rawls rightly points out, its job is to protect the weak from the state; it is not a tool of the government to limit freedom, but to preserve the rights of all citizens, and in this function it is very important for justice. Prisons are an essential part of the justice system, but the it faces a popular stigma: p eople view incarceration as a punishment, which it shouldn’t be for the people who still have hope of rehabilitation. Prisons should work towards upgrading people socially, not degrading them to something less than human. The prisons in the USA are an example of a system that is overwhelmed and doesn’t have the funds or infrastructure to support successful rehabilitation. Hence, the prisons lose their value; they become instead holding cells for people waiting to die. On the subject of death, in some countries the death penalty was and still is a very big part of the justice system. However, the value of this punishment is not always certain: it could be justified as working as a deterrent to criminals, yet in countries that have the death penalty, crime persists, and therefore it could be argued that it has no value in preventing crime, or solving the problems created by crime. Justice in possessions and finances is also important, as some people believe it is the function of the state to redistribute wealth and give to the poor and take from the rich, and that this forms part of justice. Nozick, in Anarchy, State and Utopia , says that people are entitled to legitimately acquired natural assets, that justice is entitlement: people are entitled to possessions and earnings as long as they remain within the law whilst acquiring them. Ultimately the value of a state is clear: it means a society can work more effectively whilst avoiding struggles for power. However, the exacting of punishments inmost western democracies, as well as law enforcement, sometimes have questionable value in preventing further crime. Courts are also often seen as ineffective and of little to no value, as people question their ability to pass a true verdict. On the other hand, the way our democracies work is reliable, as long as we stick to one form, and don’t mix and match.
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