Probably better to describe it as “fairness”. Maybe even “stubbornness” The problem with justice/fairness is that it is ultimately subjective. And a 10-year-old’s view of fairness is often divorced from principles of personal safety or propriety.
You’ll see this problem with adult libertarians all the time. Everything from seat belts to sales taxes to dress codes intrude on their sense of fairness, largely because they’ve ingested enormous volumes of propaganda. The real joke of it is when the term “social justice” impugnes your sense of personal justice. Same with the social conservatives who get up in arms over “illegal” immigration and desegregation, environmental regulations and speed limits, prohibitions on state sanctioned religious education, and age limits on who you can marry.
A sense of justice is a very plastic (especially at a young age) and perspective oriented. Wars have been fought and rivers of blood spilled over a population’s conviction of their own righteousness.










Average people give an average shit. They tend to see what comes close to goring their own ox and ignore what’s out of view.
When you’re on an empty road, it feels ridiculous to go 50 in a 50 because nobody is in your way.
When it’s bumper to bumper traffic, it feels ridiculous to go 50 in a 50 because you’d immediately collide with the car in front of you.
When everyone else is going 50, it feels sensible to keep up with the herd, even when a sign indicates a different speed is more appropriate.
Ignoring the circumstances in favor of the written rule isn’t virtuous on its face. Sometimes the rules are wrong and you need to use your own judgement. Sometimes the rules are there for reasons that go deeper than their most literal interpretation.