“For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.”Aristotel · Politica · -335 · cartea I, capitolul 2
Power without justice does not stay neutral: it turns into calculated cruelty on a scale no animal can reach.
Reason gives humans powers no animal has: planning, weapons, cooperation on a mass scale. But those same powers, undirected by justice, turn into calculated cruelty. An animal kills from instinct and only when hungry; a tyrant kills methodically, on a large scale, without need. Law and justice are the rein that turns raw power into civic order.
Why it matters Useful in debates about power: it shows why any institution, from police to corporations, needs external checks, not just good intentions.