A system justification perspective on law, human behavior, and society

System justification theory, which posits that people are motivated to defend and legitimize existing social structures, has been used to explain a variety of social problems, including sexism, racism, classism, environmental inaction, and tolerance of corruption. In this chapter, we describe the utility of system justification theory for understanding patterns of legal judgment and decision-making, the nature of the judicial system itself, and the reasons for its relatively high levels of perceived legitimacy. We suggest that legal scholars and practitioners can benefit from attending to the ways in which system-justifying motives shape not only decisions made by judges, juries, and other legal actors, but also the social institutions in which these actors are embedded. By more deeply considering the implications of system justification processes for legal decision-making, it may be possible to identify and eliminate some barriers to progress and social justice in the legal system and society more broadly.