Justice and Effective Cooperation

Justice is important because it facilitates effective cooperation and thereby enables superior forms of social coordination. On the bilateral level people are better able to resolve conflicts if they can refer to shared justice rules. When third parties are needed to facilitate cooperation they can function more effectively when the parties agree that they are exercising their authority through fair procedures;? finally, people are more willing to engage with collectivities when they evaluate them as acting through a shared conception of justice.? Overall justice is central to facilitating cooperation and the key to its success is that there is a consensus about what is just among those involved. This is equally true of the relationship between people who are negotiating about the price of a product or service and people who are members of large-scale communities, organizations, or societies.