William Penn was one of the earliest members of the Quaker society as well as the founder of Pennsylvania. Throughout his life, he was a stark supporter of religious freedom, which led to multiple arrests while he resided in England. He also made treaties with Native American groups in the Pennsylvania region. He is credited with stating that “Justice is the insurance we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium in which we pay for it.” Which follows the idea that we protect ourselves and our personal belongings through creating a lawful and just society, and it is through adherence to the law that such a society can be created. He later went on to try to create such a thing using the land he was given by King Charles II, and it would allow people of all backgrounds to live on equal footing.
It’s possible to see that in nations or regions where there is little respect for your neighbors or there is little in the way of justice in place to ensure the protection of the lives of the people. Just look at the former Soviet Union or a more recent example being North Korea or Syria, these nations were or currently still are led by brutal regimes that aren't held accountable to their own laws, whereas the citizens live under constant fear that they could be taken from their homes and forced into labor camps or killed simply because they are suspected of being against the government; there's no justice there, no protection for the common person or their property, and the governments were rarely lawful to the standards that they held others to. Take the Soviet Gulags for example, especially during Stalin’s rule during the 40’s and early 50’s, anyone who spoke out again the Bolshevik party were often sent off even with little evidence against them, it had in some areas of the nation become a way to rid oneself of noisy or annoying neighbors, and as a result no-one attempted to push for reforms that would otherwise benefit the quality of life and economy of the nation because they were too afraid of being removed from their homes and sent to force labor camps. Syria is a much more relevant situation however as in the current moment in time a civil war rips through the country as rebels fight against a government that committed mass murders against them. Compare all those examples to nations such as the United States, Canada, or any number of Western European nations such as France, Germany, or so on, where there are laws and protective services set in place to protect people and their property from each other and it's possible to see just how capable a “just society” with laws, a fair justice system, and protections can be prosperous and successful.
Works Cited
"William Penn."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn>.