ABSTRACT
Amartya Sen opened his landmark discussion of justice by reflecting on the intense way children think about fairness. Citing Dickens, Sen argued that many adult citizens can vividly recall childhood experiences of injustice. I was reminded of the intensity of children’s sense of justice and injustice when confronted recently by our own daughter’s strong reaction to the news that protestors might be cleared from an Occupy site in the United States by the use of force:
Water cannons?! Mum, mum did you hear that? They just said on the news that they might use water cannons on those student protestors, I can’t believe that! That’s just like what they did in the US civil rights movement. That’s terrible!
