Law

Peace orjustice...which one comes first?  Why?

That's a tough question. I would say that peace must come first.  In order to have justice, man needs to establish laws by which all people agree to be bound.  In a state of war, it is difficult to establish laws because usually a state of war means that the warring parties have yet to agree on principles and values that will guide the formation of laws.  And without laws, there can be no justice.

Your question is very vague because you do not provide a frame of reference, however an interesting one. As civilizations became increasingly complex it was necessary to ensure the 'peace' within a society.This was achieved by establishing laws. Law can be defined as a rule of conduct or action enforced by an authority in any given society. As interactions between diverse civilizations of people developed, laws that preserved the peace were expanded to serve justice, which inturn would preserve the peace. In some ways it could be argued that 'peace' is what most people want, but whether fortunate or not, 'justice' enforced by law helps to 'keep the peace'.