Summary Of Problem Of The Grudge Informers

In Lon Fuller’s “Problem of the Grudge Informers,” the author presents the reader with the job of being the Minister of Justice and you are given the task of deciding whether or not to prosecute the “grudge informers” of the former regime. The “Purple Shirts Party” took over the state by using scare tactics and now they run the state by intimidating the citizens and they run their legislation by allowing illegal actions. While the “Purple Shirt Party” was in power, there were many “grudge informers” who were people of the state worked off many of their grudges by reporting their enemies to the government authorities. Some things that were reported were private views and critiques of the government, listening to foreign radio broadcasts, hoarding

The first deputy’s solution is essentially to do nothing because the acts that were reported at the time were in accordance with the law of the land rather than the law of the government which many people found unlawful, and therefore when the Purple Shirts party was overthrown the laws that were under their rule should have been changed. The second deputy’s solution was similar in the sense that he suggested to do nothing as well but for a different reason. His reasoning for the Minister of Justice to do nothing was that due to the government being unlawful which creates a state of war and therefore anyone who commits a crime under a state of war should not be punished. Both of these solutions are not ideal because they are not solving the issue at hand, but is rather hoping that if the issue is not dealt with, in time it will go

In other words, if a judge is lenient on one case and issues a lighter sentence, then the judges after him on similar cases will see that sentencing as a precedent and will issue lighter sentences for similar cases. This pattern can continue for as long as it takes and the sentencing can keep getting reduced and eventually the sentencing become useless if it is not enough time for retribution. The fifth deputy’s solution did not necessarily seem like a solution, because he was basically saying that people should be allowed to take the law into their own hands. This is never the right solution because allowing people to take matters into their own hands is promoting chaos, because people will become very vengeful and that starts the circle of revenge which never produces good