364 Justice and the Expansion of Life 



by paralysis. Paul works as before and produces 

 as much, but he cannot exchange it. He can buy 

 no commodities, no bread, no butter, no shoes. 

 They have not been made. If the paralysis is 

 partial, so that only half as many commodities 

 are produced as before, then Paul can get only 

 approximately half as much bread, butter, shoes, 

 etc., in exchange for the cloth which he weaves in 

 a day. And if the paralysis were not accidental 

 but due to wounds inflicted by Paul, he would be 

 just as ill situated. O71 account of the interde- 

 pendence of human society every mutilation is 

 in the last analysis an auto-mutilation. From 

 whatever aspect it is viewed, injustice is a limita- 

 tion of life. 



We can now better understand altruism. In so 

 far as altruism serves to increase the welfare of the 

 society of which I am a part, it is simply enlightened 

 self-interest. It is to my interest to love my 

 neighbours as myself — and myself as my neigh- 

 bours; in other words, to be just. If I go further, 

 and sacrifice my real interests as a member of 

 society, I lose and society loses. Not altruism, 

 but justice is the solution of the social problem. 



This is equally true of political relations. A 

 State is just when it assures its citizens full liberty. 

 Then each individual can attain his or her fullest 

 physical and intellectual development. To be 

 imjust is to inflict on them a series of mutilations. 

 To censor a writer's book is equivalent to render- 

 ing him physically incapable of writing it. In 



