--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who thinks the law has anything to do…" description: "\"Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? It's what we have because we can't have justice.\" — William McIlvanney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/william-mcilvanney-45536_justice_who-thinks-the-law-has-anything-to-do-wi_93947.png" --- # Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? It's… ![“Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? It's what we have because we can't have justice.” quote by William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/william-mcilvanney-45536_justice_who-thinks-the-law-has-anything-to-do-wi_93947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/william-mcilvanney-45536_justice_who-thinks-the-law-has-anything-to-do-wi_93947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/william-mcilvanney-45536_justice_who-thinks-the-law-has-anything-to-do-wi_93947.png) > “Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? It's what we have because we can't have justice.” [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Law is a pragmatic framework that fills the void left by unattainable perfect justice. **In simple terms:** Law substitutes for imperfect justice. Key Takeaway Law is a compromise for justice. Themes law justice politics philosophy Mood critical thoughtful Type political commentary philosophical When to use this quote - judicial reform debates - civil rights movements - policy making Key Concepts social contract ethical pragmatism Practical Applications - Design legal reforms that better align with justice ideals - Educate citizens on law‑justice distinction Questions to Reflect On - How can law evolve to reflect deeper notions of justice? - What are the dangers of treating law as a substitute for justice? A Different Perspective Equating law with justice can obscure systemic biases within legal systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-justice/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Never mistake law for justice. Justice is an ideal, and law is a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-e-modesitt-jr/never-mistake-law-for-justice-justice-is-an-ideal-and-law-is-a-tool/) [L.E. Modesitt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-e-modesitt-jr/) > [Of course Trump thinks he is above the law. For his entire life, he has been able to say and do whatever he felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/of-course-trump-thinks-he-is-above-the-law-for-his-entire-life-he-has/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [At some point in their life, everyone thinks they should go to law school. You may in fact think you want to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/at-some-point-in-their-life-everyone-thinks-they-should-go-to-law/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [“there is very little connection between law and justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-masters/there-is-very-little-connection-between-law-and-justice/) [Alexander Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-masters/) > [Men are always invoking justice; yet it is justice which should make them tremble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/men-are-always-invoking-justice-yet-it-is-justice-which-should-make/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [Law and justice are not always the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [My friend said to me, 'You don't look good,' - because all the time I have to think about law and justice and courts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/my-friend-said-to-me-you-don-t-look-good-because-all-the-time-i-have/) [Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/) > [Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/man-when-perfected-is-the-best-of-animals-but-when-separated-from-law/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Whereas the handling of the case against President Nixon clearly strengthened the nation's respect for law, justice and truth, the Clinton impeachment may unfortunately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/whereas-the-handling-of-the-case-against-president-nixon-clearly/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [Law is justice. 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Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-greene/) > [The choice between law and justice is an easy one for courageous minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-choice-between-law-and-justice-is-an-easy-one-for-courageous-minds/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Law is justice. In this proposition a simple and enduring government can be conceived. And I defy anyone to say how even the thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/law-is-justice-in-this-proposition-a-simple-and-enduring-government/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law & justice he is the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/at-his-best-man-is-the-noblest-of-all-animals-separated-from-law/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by William McIlvanney > [“Perhaps it was just that, born in Scotland, you were hanselled with remorse, set up with shares in Calvin against your coming of age,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/perhaps-it-was-just-that-born-in-scotland-you-were-hanselled-with/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [“Somewhere in all the bright assurances he was lost in a private darkness, led on by a recurrent dream of more than he was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/somewhere-in-all-the-bright-assurances-he-was-lost-in-a-private/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [Good lies need a leavening of truth to make them palatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/good-lies-need-a-leavening-of-truth-to-make-them-palatable/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [Writing is a way of sharing our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/writing-is-a-way-of-sharing-our-humanity/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [That would have been a nice place, inside an idea, but it wasn't a place to live. It was necessary to live where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/that-would-have-been-a-nice-place-inside-an-idea-but-it-wasn-t-a/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [Just as the apparent openness of rectitude will have its hidden places where foul things moulder in the dark, so, in the shadowed lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcilvanney/just-as-the-apparent-openness-of-rectitude-will-have-its-hidden/) [William McIlvanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcilvanney/) > [Four experts had an appointment with an ordinary man. They needed him to ratify their findings, or anything they achieved would be meaningless. 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Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [“Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/why-do-so-many-people-do-nothing-i-think-it-s-because-most-of-us-look/) [John C. 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I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Browse all 13,527 Justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice? 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