We all agree with the concept of fairness, in the abstract. Applying it however…
We all recognize the notion of fairness as a universal and fundamental good. Of course things being fair for all people is a good thing, an ideal. Things get sticky when we start striving to achieve it in real and practical terms. Our perspectives and opinions start to diverge, contradict, and even openly conflict. What exactly is the definition of fair? Is the potential cost too great? What determines who is deserving of those efforts? Who makes those determinations? It starts to get sticky pretty quickly.
Efforts to achieve fair treatment of all individuals within a society are at the heart of all social progress and every civil rights movement. It is part of the core definition of human rights and is at the center of the concept of a democratic society. In autocratic societies run by dictators the notion of fairness simply doesn’t enter into it. People do as they are told and get whatever they get as unilaterally decided by those in power.
In more socially progressive societies the individual’s right to be treated fairly by the powers and systems of that society is the cornerstone upon which all the cultural and societal machinery is built. The entire reason for electing leaders is to ensure representation, and…