An Unjust World? The OxyContin Case

Purdue Pharma is a company owned by the Sackler family that produced, among other products, OxyContin, a highly addictive opioid pain medication. More than 500,000 people in the United States have died from opioid drug overdoses, and millions more suffer from opioid addiction. Purdue Pharma advertised this pain killer and denied that it is highly addictive. By September 2019, Purdue Pharma was sued by 49 states and U.S territories and Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

On September 1, 2021, a bankruptcy settlement was reached between the Sackler family and thousands of OxyContin victims. The Sackler family did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to pay $4.5 billion over the coming years to settle with over 130,000 individuals and families (Hoffman, 2021). In exchange, the company is practically released from any possible liability related to OxyContin. The Sackler family still has estimated assets of about $11 billion and remains one of the richest families in the United States (Hoffman, 2021).

Let’s just mention one specific family and her tragic experiences with OxyContin as mentioned in the PressNewsAgency (2021). Judge Drain referred to one letter from a widow in Minneapolis with stage 4 cancer. Several years ago, her husband had a work-related back injury and was prescribed OxyContin. He became addicted to opioids, lost his job, and consequently, the family lost their home. Then, he killed himself.

Shattering Just-World Beliefs

Has justice been served in the settlement with the 130,000 individuals and families? Probably, most people would disagree. Even the presiding Judge Drain called the verdict “bitter.” Reading and hearing about this settlement makes many people feel angry: “How can they get away with it?”; “How is this possible?” Many people are shocked, disappointed, and disillusioned: “The rich always find a way out! They cannot be touched!” To be fair, there are more people involved in this unfortunate epidemic, such as physicians who over-prescribed OxyContin.

But why are many people so upset when they hear about this Purdue Pharma settlement case? Mainly because this story goes against the belief, we call in psychology, the “just-world belief” (Lerner, 1980). According to this just-world belief, we believe that ultimately justice prevails in this world, that despite its unpredictability, the world remains a fair and orderly place. If someone does wrong, somehow it comes back to them. Name it how you want it — God, karma, luck, fate, or destiny — but we believe that misdeeds will somehow get punished and good deeds will be rewarded. We even teach our children to be honest, to tell the truth, and to not lie, because even when no one is watching, they need to do good.

Having such a just-world belief is healthy. Studies have shown that having just-world beliefs gives a sense of control over things happening in this world and ultimately people with stronger just-world beliefs have higher well-being (Hafer et al., 2020). Research has also shown that just-world beliefs increase the intentions and willingness of people to help others (Igou et al., 2021).

Yet in this Purdue settlement case, people’s just-world beliefs have been shattered. It is probably because of cases such as this that some researchers call this just-world belief a bias or an illusion; that in reality, in many instances, justice is not served.

Regardless of this particular “bitter” law case, continuing to believe in a just world can motivate us to keep going, to do good. Not only does it help us to help others, to cope with negative life events, but it ultimately can give us direction and also increase our own well-being.

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”