Sunday, October 24, 2010

A Theory of Justice - Joseph Stiglitz

Among the casualties of this whole mess, according to Stiglitz? Faith
in the legal system itself. "The legal system is supposed to be the
codification of our norms and beliefs, things that we need to make
our system work," he said. "If the legal system is seen as exploitative,
then confidence in our whole system starts eroding."

"When you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you say, with 'justice for
all," Stiglitz said. "People aren't sure that we have justice for all.
Somebody is caught for a minor drug offense, they are sent to prison
for a very long time. And yet, these so-called white-collar crimes,
which are not victimless; almost none of these guys, almost none of
them, go to prison."

"Families are as important as corporations," he said. "Keeping kids
in school, not forcing them out of their home, keeping the
community together, is certainly as important as keeping a
corporation alive."


Joseph Stiglitz