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IVR2022
Welcome


Justice, Community and Freedom

Justice is a central aspiration of human beings. It is the distinguishing human virtue as Plato observed. Justice is searched for in individual relations and forms at the same time a guiding principle for the political and legal order of human societies. Justice is intrinsically related to equality. Equality is a core theme of the most important and consequential struggles of human society about political rights and the distribution of goods in a society. It continues to be a widely discussed theme in contemporary debates, perhaps even with renewed force in recent years, not only from philosophical perspectives. It has become, for instance, of great interest for economists who investigate the impact of increasing levels of social inequality around the world on a prospering economy. International organizations, not suspect of any revolutionary intentions, are discussing the importance of equality for a decent society. The climate crisis has underlined the urgency of intergenerational justice. The problems of an international just order also have not been solved.

Human communities are central for the realization of justice. Human beings are social and, in a deep sense, political beings. This association is not only relevant for private life but includes the building of viable political communities. This is not a side issue of human life but, as many philosophers in the history of thought have argued and many people experience every day, is an important element of realizing humans’ most important capabilities. Human beings strive for association with other people as a necessary precondition of a flourishing life. The building of communities creates many problems. Today, for example, the political instrumentalization of identity politics drives wedges between people and sometimes undermines the peaceful cooperation among groups and states. Given a plethora of problems that can only be solved on the global scale, exemplified by climate change or the Covid-19 pandemic, the question of a realistic conception of a global community is as urgent as it ever has been.

Another aspiration of human beings and their societies is the protection of freedom. Is the yearning for justice and the desire for community reconcilable with the preservation of freedom? Can one build a just community without ringing the death bell of liberty? Or is a just community necessarily based on respect for human freedom?

The congress will explore these and related topics in plenary lectures, special workshops and working groups. The speakers and participants will represent the great diversity of legal and social philosophy (and legal and social philosophers) around the world. It will offer special topical panels on questions of currently substantial importance including a President’s Panel on the destructive forces threatening democracy.

I am most thankful that our hosts are preparing the upcoming IVR World Congress 2022 with so much passion and expertise. I am sure the days in Bucharest will be a wonderful experience.

I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in Bucharest – finally in person!

Matthias Mahlmann, President, IVR