ABSTRACT
Jokes in The New Yorker are sometimes incomprehensible to Europeans. To most people in our time, and on both sides of the Atlantic, the image of Lady Justice is familiar and packed with meaning. In one hand she holds scales, of course of an old fashioned type, based on the principle of balance. In a very fundamental sense, such a village court would operate in close proximity to the villagers. Often all take part, all have relevant knowledge, and all have to live with the consequences of their decisions. But this description also makes it clear why Lady Justice is out of style in the village. Children come to some sort of agreement on rules. They learn them through making. Villagers in small scale systems inherit the basic principles of the legal system, but then – in a process of general participation – continue the game.
