Two wrongs don’t make a right

Introduction:

• Introduce with an anecdote or mythology like Shakuni’s revenge for Bhishma’s forceful marriage of Gandhari is not right.

Background:

• The statement means doing a wrong act in response to another wrong act is not going to make the later or the whole thing right. If one slaps us, is it right to slap them back is the question. The question is not alone about whether revenge is right or not, but whether it is an effective, beneficial, or moral response.

Why wrong does not nullify a wrong?

• It puts us in a vicious cycle, in WWI the winner imposed an excessive penalty on Germany, which did not stop Germany from being wrong, it came out more wrong and caused WWII. So, a wrong in response to wrong will lead to a big wrong, such consequences will be disastrous for all. So, it is unwise.
• A wrong punishment gives satisfaction to the wrongdoers that they are not wrong. If we show anger for being shown anger, then anger is moralized. Thus moralization of immoral tenets is a big loss of this approach. So two wrongs don’t make a right.
• Also, what made a wrong action possible needs to be seen and reform of the system should be done to prevent wrong actions e.g. mob murdering a rapist won’t end rape, but sex education can.

What is the right approach?

• A non-revenge approach especially not using violence for violence.
• Reformative justice, not retributive justice.
• Live the right way of life and make the wrong one feel guilty e.g. how Japan showed to the USA through peace one can prosper.

How this attitude developed?

• Humans tend to think giving back what we got is the right form of justice. Lack of ends vs means differentiation; murder cannot be a moral reply to a murder. Here end is justice, but the means are wrong.

Philosophical basis:

• Christ – Turning the other cheek is a famous message from the bible that tells if one slaps you show the other cheek too, to be slapped than slapping back.
• Gandhi – An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
• Liberal principles – Hate the sin not the sinner and so reform the wrongdoer not kill them, so capital punishment in Ancient Greece was slowly abandoned and the prison was used to reform criminals.

Challenges in doing this:

• Our psychology is prone to anger and anger demands revenge; thus, anger is not exhausted until revenge has been done e.g. Pakistan still wants to take revenge for Indian success in the 1971 war.
• Populistic law promotes capital punishment to satiate the emotions of people against wrongdoers.
• Reforms have remained almost utopian; will caste be completely rooted out? These dilemmas put forward disturbing questions.

How to build this approach?

• Value education, teaching emotional intelligence to differentiate right and wrong responses, robust reform system like successful efforts world made in reforming lack of education for women.

Conclusion:

• Summarise the whole while maintaining the balance.