The concept of blind justice is fundamental to the ultimate aspirations of true justice itself: where all members of a given society are treated equally by the rules and laws of that society, irrespective of who one happens to be, and what position in society they happen to occupy. If we conceptualize our system of rules and laws as the concrete foundation on which the rest of our society is built on and from, we can understand trust in that system to be the reinforced steel that supports that very concrete foundation. Of course, without reinforcement, even the highest quality concrete will crack, bend and crumble in a short time. It is only with its reinforced spine of steel that concrete finds the strength to endure.
Trust in a system of rules and laws is fundamentally reliant on society’s belief that outcomes in that system are reflective of all of the fundamental elements of justice— including its blind application. If society does not trust that outcomes are blind, but rather believe that the application of the rules and laws of that society is with bias, prejudice, partiality, and influence, then that system faces a fundamental crisis of legitimacy. And much like concrete without its steel spine, a system of rules and laws that does not enjoy the trust of the society to which it is applied will quickly crack, crumble and fall.
To state simply, perceived or real double-standards can be fatal to societies’ trust in a given system of rules, laws, and their outcomes. As these systems of rules and laws provide the proverbial foundation on which society is itself built, a lack of trust in these systems gives rise to a real question of legitimacy for the society itself.
With an understanding of how critically damaging perceived or real double-standards can be to a society, it is of course immensely disturbing to witness events that have unfolded in recent months. Governments imploring their citizenry to follow protocols and guidelines intended to protect against the COVID-19 virus, all the while the very same politicians and bureaucrats making these demands flaunt their very own rules and demands, as one example. Police involvement in the brutalizing and death of individuals like George Floyd— accused of nothing more than the pettiest of offences— while just eight months later, many officers seemingly allowed neo-fascists to attack and kill in the hallways of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., and then freely and safely walk back to their hotels afterward, serves as another example.
I could go on and on as you the reader, I am sure, can imagine. However, the point is not the evidence, of which we are all so aware, but rather the effect and the consequences. The consequences we have so far been witness to— anger, rage, incredulity, and sadness— pale in comparison to where we may be headed. Legitimacy and trust, inter-related and of critical importance, may be broken, perhaps irreparably.