Oftentimes, many would claim that equality and justice are two relatively different words, demonstrating different values and ideas. However, both share relationships that make the terms reasonably similar. One strong relationship that both have in common is that they are seen in nations that either struggle or succeed. Throughout the past several decades, the prosperous countries are those that have higher standards in both principles. Equality and justice are the core principles that a social fabric should be built around.

Countries that display elements of justice and equality usually offer competent legal systems that are fair for every person. When a robust system is in place, that country ranks as one of the best in the world. Finland is an excellent example of this because they run a practical approach: the dual court administrative court. The Hauser Law School Program by NYU explains that the general court focuses on the criminal and civil law, then gets passed to the administrative court, which reviews the public authorities’ actions based on the appeals sent. There are also different tiers for these courts as the general court has three levels, and the administrative court has two groups. These tiers are based on the difficulty of the case, which helps ensure the final result is most just and fair.

 Another strong country that demonstrates high standards of justice and equality is Canada. This country guarantees everyone due process under the law. They believe the idea that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, with this applying to all citizens no matter what they do to contribute to the Nation. Canada has been seen as a place of equality as every individual is equal under the law, without discrimination or unfairness.

While no country is perfect, everyone aims to get as close as possible. Finland,  Canada, and several other countries worldwide have made significant improvements in the areas of justice and equality due to having a legal system that bestows fundamental human rights to all of its citizens.

On the other hand, the lack of justice or equality has also been seen throughout the past decade as many nations have shown corrupt systems and unethical rights for individuals. A country that stands out is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this broken nation, women’s rights are not present at all. A source from Human Rights Watch explains how women are not allowed to do many things like serving in the military, having no freedom to travel or receive a passport, choosing marriage, restrictions on leaving prison, and not working at certain places due to gender. It is clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia significantly lacks the basics of equality or justice as there is a massive crisis in women’s rights, causing many women to attempt to flee the nation. Discrimination is seen as a significant factor to their broken country as many are being killed, jobs aren’t being given, and most importantly the gender discrimination. Actions like murder, rape, and overworking employees are often used towards foreign workers who have little protection under the law. The fact that not everyone is equal and those who are foreign receive unfair treatment defines what Saudi Arabia is really made up of.

Furthermore, North Korea is another country that demonstrates a substantial lack of both justice and equality. In this communist nation, multiple generations of a family can be held responsible for the actions of an elder in their family. In a more straightforward explanation, if one had tried escaping the nation, not only would they be punished, but their parents, grandparents, and children would be punished. The brutal action portrays a lack of justice as many are being punished for actions that weren’t committed by themselves. There is also a substantial lack of equality as social ranking is a vital gap. Though North Korea is a communist nation, there are strong poverty rates that are not mentioned much in the media. A shared number from the Borden Project claims that 60% of the country lives in poverty. This large number doesn’t have the same access to many things exposed to the wealthier. For example, they are not allowed to have cell phones unless their social ranking is high enough.

Not only have modern countries been identified by their justice and equality issues, but many civilizations also collapsed due to these same issues. The first example was the South during the Slavery Period. The collapse of slavery was due to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves of Southern territories. This was due to the treatment and misery that slaves had to endure while living their lives. There was a significant gap in inequality as white southerners found themselves superior to African Americans, which caused beatings and brutality in work fields and territories.

To add on, civilizations like Ancient Rome that collapsed were due to the lack of justice and equality. In Ancient Rome, a large part of the collapse was due to Rome’s economy as it was heavily based on slavery. Slavery created a tremendous gap between the wealthy and poor, which ruined the economy. The acts of slavery seen in Rome were prime examples of equality issues that became justice issues as there were countless deaths and injuries involving foreign slaves. A source from PBS claims, “Slaves were often whipped, branded, and cruelly mistreated.” This quote shows the treatment that slaves were faced with and the equality issues that were seen. 

Global growth is something that many can see when looking at the past several decades. This is particularly the case within the United States. This country has seen equality and justice improvements for minorities, women, and children. The Bill of Rights has been amended several times to ensure that the US is more inclusive. However, social barriers remain. There are gaps in pay between men and women, systemic racism, and a flawed justice system that does not allow the ability to reach complete justice and equality for all. Yet, America allows its people to have a voice. Protests, awareness campaigns, and community leaders use their voices to let the country know there is still room for improvement regarding equality and justice.

Both equality and justice are just as important when comparing the two. However, many don’t realize that the two terms share many similarities as both are critical for nations to succeed. The countries that lack justice and equality are often viewed in a negative light, while countries that have vigorous standards of fairness are those that are on top of rankings. While those strong nations show great sides of equality and justice systems, there is no perfect country as there are always conflicts in between. However, despite flawlessness, the nations that do have the most secure values are the countries that find the most achievement. That being said, the relationship between justice and equality serves similar meanings, though one thing that can be recognized is that both are essential towards building a prosperous country.

Cited Sources:

nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Finland.html 

pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/slaves_freemen.html 

borgenproject.org/tag/poverty-in-north-korea/#:~:text=Since%201948%2C%20its%20population%20has,Korea's%20population%20lives%20in%20poverty. 

telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/north-korea/galleries/what-you-didn-t-know-about-north-korea/there-s-a-three-generations-of-punishment-rule/ 

hrw.org/news/2019/01/30/saudi-arabia-10-reasons-why-women-flee 

brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004400474/BP000001.xml 

nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Finland.html#:~:text=Finland%20has%20a%20dual%20court,three%20tiers%20of%20general%20courts.