Statutory enactments may adequately define legal justice, but they cannot define social justice. When a government undertakes to be the fountainhead of social justice it makes itself responsible not simply for the legal or orderly operation of society but also for the moral conduct of individuals in society. As the number of citizens who act illegally is much smaller than the number who act immorally, the state which claims social justice functions must enlarge not only its obligations but also its coercive authority. Love and charity are primarily individual responsibilities. They cannot be practiced or enforced by society as a whole.
Social justice is a paradox and social love is meaningless.
We can be certain that no social action can be justified in the long run if it causes individuals to lose their integrity and character. The indispensable thing is the preservation of personal morale, the lan vital or inner drive of individuals, the right of each individual to be a person. I am a unique human being. I want to live my life, and I am not willing to be suffocated even by those who wish me well and say that they intend to do me good. As Ayn Rand is pointing out, it is a psychological impossibility to live someone else's life.