I used to think that justice was about the rich helping the poor, thereby creating a fairer society. I realised some years ago that, not only was this view inadequate, it was fundamentally flawed. As much as I longed to ‘go’ and save the poor, I knew it was not my place to save them. In a world with finite resources there will always be rich and poor, and grand gestures are all very well but will never create a just world.

But this year at Greenbelt I found a fresh understanding of what justice could look like. Stumbling upon the ‘Living Generously’ stand I was challenged to live justly, not in a radical way but in a quiet, gradual way. Justice isn’t ‘going’ to save the world, it is staying at home and consciously limiting my consumer choices on a daily basis for the good of all, both rich and poor. This justice does not patronise continents and peoples I have been taught to pity rather than understand, but it does begin to redress the balance. And, as I am already learning, it is justice that takes faith - faith that small changes, quietly made, can change the world.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 at 4:20 pmand is filed under MPH Competition.