This analysis of the social and political thought of Simone Weil pays particular attention to Weil's concept of justice as compassion. It describes the ways in which Weil's concept of justice stands in contrast with liberal "rights-based" views of justice and focuses upon central aspects of Weil's thought, including "attention", human suffering and "affliction", and the importance of "a spiritual way of life" in reshaping the individual's role in civic life.