Weblog 3

         D. Miller defines distributive justice as "a fair distribution of benefits among the members of various associations"(1). Clearly in the story, by Ursala Le Guin this was not happening because one group was reaping all the benefits, while the ill child had none. They sacrificed the well being and sanity of the child to maintain happiness for a larger group. Rather than experience some pain or discomfort to give this child some joy they hid it away so the masses could benefit from this one person's suffering.
        This can be applied to real life because as a generalization the wealthy have more benefits than the poor. Education and job opportunities are much more obtainable to people from upperclass backgrounds than people from lower class backgrounds. Similar to the story by Le Guin it's common that people who have more benefits do not want to give them up to help someone with fewer benefits. It's fair to say that America does not have distributive justice because often the beneficial people will turn their heads to problems like poverty or unemployment rather than try to fix them.
          Miller also explains an element that is needed to establish social justice "Social justice requires the notion of a society made up of interdependent parts, with an institutional structure that affects the prospects of each individual member, and that is capable of deliberate reform by an agency such as the state in the name of fairness" (4). In Le Guin's story, the ones that walked away from the town of Omelas, were acting as the agents to achieve justice. Even though no one actually helped the child, by leaving the town they were also leaving behind the type of thinking going on in Omelas. Also the story says that when they left Omelas they were starting a life of darkness and loneliness, which implies at some point they would be willing to accept the pain that comes from helping another. By leaving that town and that way of thinking they were working to end that way of thinking.
           In real life, he agents are the people that are able to separate themselves from this type of self-centered thinking. Often times that does mean having to deal with some hardship, like giving up time or finical stability. The ones that are able to remove themselves from the typical way of tinking and are willing to experience pain are the ones that will help achieve justice.