--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are different kinds of justice…" description: "\"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African underTutustanding is far more restorative - not so much to pu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/desmond-tutu-442_balance_there-are-different-kinds-of-justice-ret_1865727.jpg" --- # There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice… ![“There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African underTutustanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/desmond-tutu-442_balance_there-are-different-kinds-of-justice-ret_1865727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/desmond-tutu-442_balance_there-are-different-kinds-of-justice-ret_1865727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/598/desmond-tutu-442_balance_there-are-different-kinds-of-justice-ret_1865727.jpg) > “There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African underTutustanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice can be restorative, focusing on repairing harm and restoring balance rather than merely punishing. **In simple terms:** Restorative justice heals and restores balance. Key Takeaway Prioritize repair over punishment. Themes justice restoration balance punishment Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - community mediation - criminal sentencing - school discipline - family disputes Key Concepts restorative justice African traditions conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of restorative justice? - How can it be integrated with retributive systems? A Different Perspective Restorative approaches may be seen as lenient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African Undertutustanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-undertutustanding-2540822/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-kinds/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Retributive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-retributive-628913/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-justice-2540820/) [Redress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redress/) [Retributive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retributive-2540821/) [Retributive justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retributive-justice/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [We seek a restorative justice, not a retributive justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-seek-a-restorative-justice-not-a-retributive-justice/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Retributive justice is one that says clobber him or clobber her because they clobbered me. So it emphasizes punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/retributive-justice-is-one-that-says-clobber-him-or-clobber-her/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I can establish the expectation of retributive justice. Have we done that? No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-can-establish-the-expectation-of-retributive-justice-have-we-done/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [There are two forms of justice. There is what is called retributive justice and there is restorative justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-are-two-forms-of-justice-there-is-what-is-called-retributive/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [If you don't have properly constituted civic authorities you will encourage vigilantism and solo efforts at retributive justice - which is anarchy, and God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/if-you-don-t-have-properly-constituted-civic-authorities-you-will/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [“A system of justice does not need to pursue retribution. If the purpose of drug sentencing is to prevent harm, all we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/a-system-of-justice-does-not-need-to-pursue-retribution-if-the/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [If the Pope were to deny that the death penalty could be an exercise of retributive justice, he would be overthrowing the tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avery-dulles/if-the-pope-were-to-deny-that-the-death-penalty-could-be-an-exercise/) [Avery Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avery-dulles/) > [ \[On Senator Jesse Helms\] I think he ought to be worried about what's going on in the Good Lord's mind, because if there is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-totenberg/on-senator-jesse-helms-i-think-he-ought-to-be-worried-about-what-s/) [Nina Totenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-totenberg/) > [Retributive justice did not arise from any Christian principle; almost every pre-Christian society dealt with wrongdoers by causing them pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/retributive-justice-did-not-arise-from-any-christian-principle-almost/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Restorative justice is not a replacement of retributive justice, but a complement. It seeks the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer and the repair of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/restorative-justice-is-not-a-replacement-of-retributive-justice-but-a/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [“Systems of retributive justice work well as long as they are proportional. However, in complex societies, where the State is the arbiter of justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/systems-of-retributive-justice-work-well-as-long-as-they-are/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [Tereza's mother never stopped reminding her that being a mother meant sacrificing everything. Her words had the ring of truth, backed as they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/tereza-s-mother-never-stopped-reminding-her-that-being-a-mother-meant/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The same Constitution that allows her the right, if she wants to, to sit there and say nothing, allows these groups the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/the-same-constitution-that-allows-her-the-right-if-she-wants-to-to/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [Any time you find the government involved in a conspiracy to violate the citizenship or the civil rights of a people, then you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/any-time-you-find-the-government-involved-in-a-conspiracy-to-violate/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [And, lastly, to vindicate these rights, when actually violated and attacked, the subjects of England are entitled, in the first place, to the regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blackstone/and-lastly-to-vindicate-these-rights-when-actually-violated-and/) [William Blackstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blackstone/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. 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