--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Justice in the hands of the powerful is…" description: "\"Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. Why call it justice?\" — Georges Bernanos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/georges-bernanos-7838_governing_justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is_2847850.jpg" --- # Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing… ![“Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. Why call it justice?” quote by Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/georges-bernanos-7838_governing_justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is_2847850.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/georges-bernanos-7838_governing_justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is_2847850.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/georges-bernanos-7838_governing_justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is_2847850.jpg) > “Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. Why call it justice?” [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice administered by the powerful is just another system; its name does not guarantee fairness. **In simple terms:** Power shapes justice. Key Takeaway Question authority’s fairness. Themes justice power systems Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - law - activism - public policy Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does power influence legal outcomes? - Can justice be truly impartial? A Different Perspective Some argue power can enforce equitable justice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Governing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ## Related quotes > [There are people in the public sector with a range of experiences that have no equivalent in business, but are essential to governing, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/there-are-people-in-the-public-sector-with-a-range-of-experiences/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. Why call it justice? Let us rather call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is-merely-a-governing-system/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [The media likes stories. We like narratives. we don't like facts. We don't like justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/the-media-likes-stories-we-like-narratives-we-don-t-like-facts-we-don/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) > [“Western views of justice are primarily focused on how things should be done—laws, rules, and what should happen when laws are broken. In Hebrew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-nicholas/western-views-of-justice-are-primarily-focused-on-how-things-should/) [Jessica Nicholas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-nicholas/) > [As a freshman at Stanford University - a young black man - when O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder, it was a joyful moment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/as-a-freshman-at-stanford-university-a-young-black-man-when-o-j/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [Voluptuousness, like justice, is blind, but that is the only resemblance between them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/voluptuousness-like-justice-is-blind-but-that-is-the-only-resemblance/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I was charged as an adult years before I could buy a beer, lease an apartment, get a pack of cigarettes. I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelly-roll/i-was-charged-as-an-adult-years-before-i-could-buy-a-beer-lease-an/) [Jelly Roll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelly-roll/) > [“Self as such was not normal ..will be like the Justice, which lost its wings !! Both are rivals for the same man ..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesham-nebr/self-as-such-was-not-normal-will-be-like-the-justice-which-lost-its/) [Hesham Nebr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesham-nebr/) > [“I would like to see justice achieved effectively and efficiently under the rule of law, which should apply equally to all and derive from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-like-to-see-justice-achieved-effectively-and-efficiently/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I feel like there was justice. It was served through the legal system you know. Everything that I endured. It was all worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-frey/i-feel-like-there-was-justice-it-was-served-through-the-legal-system/) [Amber Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-frey/) > [With fingernails that shine like justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cake/with-fingernails-that-shine-like-justice/) [Cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cake/) > [While receiving radiation treatment for a thyroid illness, I had refused to take beta-blockers - a medication that would have eased its side effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-devers/while-receiving-radiation-treatment-for-a-thyroid-illness-i-had/) [Gail Devers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-devers/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The US has developed two coordinate governing classes: the one, called 'business,' building cities, manufacturing and distributing goods, and holding complete and autocratic power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurman-arnold/the-us-has-developed-two-coordinate-governing-classes-the-one-called/) [Thurman Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurman-arnold/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Georges Bernanos > [Fact is Our Lord knew all about the power of money: He gave capitalism a tiny niche in His scheme of things, He gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/fact-is-our-lord-knew-all-about-the-power-of-money-he-gave-capitalism/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don't despise it. But it can't quench pain, it slips through your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/i-know-the-compassion-of-others-is-a-relief-at-first-i-don-t-despise/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Optimism approves of everything, submits to everything, believes everything; it is the virtue above all of the taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/optimism-approves-of-everything-submits-to-everything-believes/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [There is nothing that God hates so much as a liar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/there-is-nothing-that-god-hates-so-much-as-a-liar/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [I have done no passably decent job in this world which did not at first seem to me useless - absurdly useless, useless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/i-have-done-no-passably-decent-job-in-this-world-which-did-not-at/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [A man given to vice is always an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/a-man-given-to-vice-is-always-an-idealist/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Hell is not to love anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/hell-is-not-to-love-anymore/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [I have just discovered something I have always known: we can no more escape from one another than we can escape from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/i-have-just-discovered-something-i-have-always-known-we-can-no-more/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Truth is meant to save you first, and the comfort comes afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/truth-is-meant-to-save-you-first-and-the-comfort-comes-afterward/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. Why call it justice? Let us rather call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/justice-in-the-hands-of-the-powerful-is-merely-a-governing-system/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Chantal's only ruse ... was her shattering simplicity. While a weak man or an imposter is always more complicated than the problem he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/chantal-s-only-ruse-was-her-shattering-simplicity-while-a-weak-man-or/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Suicide only really frightens those who are never tempted by it and never will be, for its darkness only welcomes those who are predestined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/suicide-only-really-frightens-those-who-are-never-tempted-by-it-and/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Money-crimes have an abstract quality. History is laden with the victims of gold, but their remains are odourless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/money-crimes-have-an-abstract-quality-history-is-laden-with-the/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Faith is not a thing which one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/faith-is-not-a-thing-which-one-loses-we-merely-cease-to-shape-our/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [Hell, madame, is to love no longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/hell-madame-is-to-love-no-longer/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) [Explore all 77 Georges Bernanos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) ## More Governing quotes > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The US has developed two coordinate governing classes: the one, called 'business,' building cities, manufacturing and distributing goods, and holding complete and autocratic power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurman-arnold/the-us-has-developed-two-coordinate-governing-classes-the-one-called/) [Thurman Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurman-arnold/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [While receiving radiation treatment for a thyroid illness, I had refused to take beta-blockers - a medication that would have eased its side effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-devers/while-receiving-radiation-treatment-for-a-thyroid-illness-i-had/) [Gail Devers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-devers/) > [Plato long ago pointed out the importance of being governed by men with sufficient sense of responsibility and comprehension of public duties to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/plato-long-ago-pointed-out-the-importance-of-being-governed-by-men/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [For me, governing starts with people. It doesn't start with bureaucracy. It doesn't start with policy. It starts with people and what people need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-hodges/for-me-governing-starts-with-people-it-doesn-t-start-with-bureaucracy/) [Betsy Hodges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-hodges/) > [The EU Constitution is something new in human history. Though it is not as eloquent as the French and U.S. constitutions, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/the-eu-constitution-is-something-new-in-human-history-though-it-is/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-prohibition-law-strikes-a-blow-at-the-very-principles-upon-which/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The attack on youth is a national pathology, unwarranted by fact, smokescreen for the failure of adulthood and its leadership to confront larger predicaments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-a-males/the-attack-on-youth-is-a-national-pathology-unwarranted-by-fact/) Mike A. Males > [“If you do not have a moral question in your governing process, then you do not have a process that is going to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-lyons/if-you-do-not-have-a-moral-question-in-your-governing-process-then/) [Oren Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-lyons/) > [ \[The current governing judicial philosophy is:\] If you want something passionately enough, it is guaranteed by the Constitution. No need to fiddle around gathering… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bork/the-current-governing-judicial-philosophy-is-if-you-want-something/) [Robert Bork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bork/) > [It is already clear that, because of advances in technology, drones are going to play an increased role in warfare in the years ahead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/it-is-already-clear-that-because-of-advances-in-technology-drones-are/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [Following World War II, the U.S. was the architect of the UN system, and the world financial system, and the Human Rights Declaration, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/following-world-war-ii-the-u-s-was-the-architect-of-the-un-system-and/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [This isn't about fans, greed or money. It's about being morally right or wrong. Nobody is governing the way music gets from artists to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/this-isn-t-about-fans-greed-or-money-it-s-about-being-morally-right/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [The skill of telemarketing does not necessarily translate into governing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/the-skill-of-telemarketing-does-not-necessarily-translate-into/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) [Browse all 394 Governing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Justice in the hands of the powerful is merely a governing system like any other. 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