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The title of this post is a tautology. But this common expression also conveys the idea that the consensus definition of any concept depends on the manipulative abilities of politicians and other hucksters, and, more importantly, on the lazy ignorance of the perpetually perplexed.
In a previous post, I had attempted a reasoned definition for the concept of fairness, based on technical considerations. Silly old physicist; I neglected to consider what philosophers, like the author of the subject article, understand, and what I had also recognized (but had since forgotten) in another of my posts — fairness is in the mind of the self absorbed.
So, what exactly is fair? Well, it depends. For Obama fans, fair is whatever Obama and those inducted into the Negique Hall of Fame say is fair. That includes free health care for anyone who would rather treat themselves to a week in Disney World than pay the premiums for their child's health insurance; foreclosure bailout for those who can't bear to live within their means; high paying technical jobs for the illiterate; and, basically, free lunch, which, for the sake of propriety, we will refer to as change.
The title of this post is a tautology. But this common expression also conveys the idea that the consensus definition of any concept depends on the manipulative abilities of politicians and other hucksters, and, more importantly, on the lazy ignorance of the perpetually perplexed.In a previous post, I had attempted a reasoned definition for the concept of fairness, based on technical considerations. Silly old physicist; I neglected to consider what philosophers, like the author of the subject article, understand, and what I had also recognized (but had since forgotten) in another of my posts — fairness is in the mind of the self absorbed.
So, what exactly is fair? Well, it depends. For Obama fans, fair is whatever Obama and those inducted into the Negique Hall of Fame say is fair. That includes free health care for anyone who would rather treat themselves to a week in Disney World than pay the premiums for their child's health insurance; foreclosure bailout for those who can't bear to live within their means; high paying technical jobs for the illiterate; and, basically, free lunch, which, for the sake of propriety, we will refer to as change.
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