The Fairness Insanity

When Micheal Hudson advises a debt jubilee as a remedy for our economic troubles in nakedcapitalism.com, one commenter says this:

StadistMarch 22, 2020 at 4:39 am

Where’s the justice in that? I have been living frugally and avoiding debt. So essentially I would (and should?) lose out because I was not willing to join the debt-fuelled spending and bubble creation?

Stadist succinctly states an all-too-human reaction: any debt forgiveness is not just. It's not fair that those who behaved well, staying out of debt, get no special accommodation, while the (profligate, lazy, incompetent, etc.) debtors get the bailout.

The demand for fairness and/or balance haunts humanity throughout its history. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is the human notion of justice. It's almost economic in its balance. This is in the Code of Hammurabi, and predates its repetition in Leviticus.

Yet, as Gandhi used to say "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." So fairness can lead us to cut of our noses to spite our faces. In fact I've read about one man declining treatment even though he was eligible for Medicare to cure what ailed him. Why? Because some of the undeserving might get Medicare too. Eminently fair, but at what cost!

And it turns out "fairness" as we conceive It is just part of a larger narrative in which we calculate our just desserts for our actions and is part of a very old conversation that plagued Jesus, for one example.  Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their "salvation by works" approach to good behavior ("Salvation by grace [gift]" is orthodox Christianity).

Taking credit for works let the Pharisees justify their social position, but it also encouraged arrogance and trivialized genuine fairness or justice. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for debating about whether to tithe kitchen herbs while ignoring larger matters. "Straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel" is the description he uses (Matthew 23).

Following the rules as a standard for deserving good things, while a natural inclination, does not necessarily lead to sensible conclusions, or even better behavior, either. For example, those who are wealthy were often "born on third base," but just as often want to act as though they hit a triple. Having good things, even as a birthright, does not mean they were deserved. After all, did you deserve your state of health when you were born?

The world's religious traditions often counsel getting outside the standard narrative we use to guide our path in this world, including our sense of fairness. Meditation is one way to step outside such narratives.

To get their followers to think outside the box, the Zen Buddhists have "koans"...riddles that are nonsense in conventional terms. "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" is one example. Or "What color is the wind?" Or "Not that! Not that!" (and believe me, it's not "Not that!").

In the spirit of koans, Jesus had parables about how the undeserving were rewarded. Perhaps the most famous is the prodigal son. The good brother, who stayed home, followed the rules, and didn't squander his fortune on partying didn't get the feast, the profligate prodigal did. In another parable, the workmen who toiled in the vineyard all day got the same pay as those who worked only the last bit of the day.

The message: compassion does not respect fairness. Be compassionate.

I'll add that fairness is among the weakest links in the human software we use to navigate our path in this world. There are other weak links too. For example refined sugar never triggers the "I'm full" sensation when you consume it. Never! You can suck on "Big Gulp" drinks all day and never feel the moment you have consumed too many calories--and the soda companies take advantage of that.

Sugar takes advantage of something called "supernormal stimulus." Humans and other species have bottomless pits of tolerance for these things. Apparently peahens are so intoxicated by the peacock's large tail feather display that they will cozy up to artificial displays that are much larger than real birds can produce, even when real peacocks are present.

One might even say this supernormal toleration extends to all fo the seven deadly "sins" (pride, wrath, greed, gluttony, envy, sloth, lust), and forms one of the foundations of addictive behavior. So...can we have too much "fairness," or "justice"? Perhaps.

In its pursuit of "fairness," the U.S. currently incarcerates more people than any other nation. This is true in absolute or per-capita numbers. Per-capita, the U.S. incarcerates five times the world average, roughly seven times more than the demographically identical Canadians. So is Canadian crime much higher than U.S. crime? No. About the same. If fairness worked in this instance, Canadians would be overrun with criminals.

But doesn't incarceration at least "scare addicts straight." No. Medical treatment ("rehab") has far better outcomes, and is about one seventh as expensive as incarceration.

Criminalizing things does not solve crimes, either. Roughly 80% of crime in the U.S. is unsolved. It's better, cheaper, and more effective to make a sympathetic society. That's the point of the social safety nets.

Yet when it comes to spending money, social safety nets that might make society more sympathetic are the first proposed for cuts. Why? "Labor discipline." Draconian "justice" reminds people that they had better take those crappy jobs, or suffer the indignities of poverty, perhaps even homelessness or starvation. And if you're extra ornery, we'll incarcerate you.

So that's the story of fairness. Like most superstimuli, fairness is appealing, even attractive, just as the ancient portrait of evil describes. Lucifer was the most beautiful of angels. Satan was the father of lies, so deception is the default. Evil doesn't appear as some little red demon with a pitchfork. It's far more likely to be a respectable thought ("fairness!") or a respected member of the community, say a priest with a taste for little boys or girls. Evil is not repulsive. It's seductive.

We won't get out of our current social situation until enough of the human race realizes that.