• A rational person recognizes that human beings are capable of creating positive objective values or destroying them.

• Consequently, it is in his or her interest to encourage others to create positive values and to discourage them from acting destructively. Loyalty to his or her values requires that the creators and destroyers of those values be permitted to experience the fruits—whether bitter or sweet—of their actions.

• By pursuing just action, which promotes and is congruent with their values, rational people increase their self-esteem. As we shall see in an upcoming subsection, authentic self-esteem is a cardinal requirement of optimal mental health.

The word "justice" also has some secondary, closely related senses. We sometimes speak, for example, of giving "justice" to an idea or a viewpoint. This sense of "justice" clearly is closely akin to rationality. The word is also used in a political context, with reference to governmental courts of law. Such political justice, which will be analyzed in Section 5, can be regarded as a special application of the concept of justice discussed here.     

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