When Should We Be Fair?

Instead of first asking “what’s fair,” we should first ask what makes the world better. Fairness often does make the world better, but not always. So it shouldn’t be the only question we ask when dealing with a situation. Not to mention, fairness is subjective anyhow. Here are some examples of when fairness is bad: 

Example: A common case I see pro capitalists make is that the labor theory of value is false. That labor isn’t the only thing that produces value, and as such, profits cannot be understood as the exploitation of workers. After all, investment, risk, entrepreneurship, technology, demand, etc are all things that contribute to value. (Note you don’t need private owners to do all of these things listed). So, they say it’s only fair people get to own businesses with employees, because the owner(s) put their hard earned capital into it. 

Example: It’ll be said how it’s only fair that people who cannot afford it are denied housing, healthcare, etc. Want to forgive student loans? That’s bad because it’s not fair to the people who paid them off. 

Example: Some say that regretful Trump voters should be shamed and not accepted because they should have known better. Afterall, it’s only fair, because how could they have not known better?

But, if social ownership over the entire economy, forgiving student loans, not denying healthcare + housing, and not shaming regretful Trump voters makes the world better, and I say it does, let’s do these things. Because even if it’s not “fair,” in this case fairness is secondary, whereas in other cases, it can be first.

Retribution can be good. As can fairness. But like most things, there’s a balance needed. Everyone agrees there’s a difference between a death sentence for a serial killer vs a petty thief, regardless of how you feel about death penalties. The first may make the world better too, while the latter doesn‘t. I say, use that same logic for when determining if the “fairest” outcome is the best outcome.