If we assume that justice must be earned, then our decision to treat a particular individual justly must be based on a syllogism of the following kind:

Notice, however, that Premise 2 of the argument already assumes, in effect, that Individual X (and others) should be treated justly. The syllogism is therefore logically circular and invalid.

The principle that an individual should be treated justly therefore cannot depend on our moral evaluation of that individual's actions. As argued in the main text, that principle is grounded in something more basic: the individual's nature as a volitional human being, capable of creating or destroying objective values.