Why be just ????

[Old Greg]

Agreed, but what about variants in 'societal norms' e.g. in parts of the US it is considered 'Just' to be an advocate of the death penalty but in most of europe the opposite is generally true.

You've just described a good example of where there is no clear consensus on what is just, and then politics (liberal anti-death penalty, authoritarian pro-death penalty) or religion (RC church anti-death penalty, some evangelical Christians pro-death penalty) get involved to argue the toss.

Other examples are:

Is it just for everyone to have free qulaity healthcare OR is it just that people take individual responsibility for themselves?

One of the funny things is how quickly attitudes can change on the justness of behaviour, e.g. attitudes to wife-beating and homosexuality.

Anyway, a bit off-topic now, sorry.

[Gibbon]

If we do something our conscience disagrees with, we feel bad regardless of how we are treated as a result of this action.

And the converse is true also.

A man should be just as it makes him happier, being just is a virtue of the soul.

An unjust man can appear to others by devious means to be just but he will be torn unless he is a simpleton.