The concept of fairness is more difficult to pin down. There are some people who use the
word ‘fairness’ simply to mean justice, and even those who do not employ the term in this
way generally use it in a somewhat confused and principally emotional manner. Perhaps
when used in everyday speech, the word ‘fairness’ does not actually refer to any discernible
concept. However, there is at least an aspect of fairness, even when used in everyday
language, that is unique and distinct from justice, and it is this aspect of discussions of
fairness that I wish to bring to light. For example, even if we think that the rich do not have
an obligation to help the poor, I think we can understand the claim that it is unfair that
there are many disadvantaged people in society who are less well-off than others. Consider
for example those who inherit large sums of money. Why, the advocate of a fair society
might say, should certain people benefit from having rich families and not have to do any
work, whilst there are others who work extremely hard for little gain? Another example of a
fairness claim might be the education system in the UK. Even if it is justified and correct that
less than ten per cent of children attend private schools and yet these children occupy
approximately half of the places at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, we can see
why one might say that this is unfair. After all, what child can determine whether their
parents can afford to send them to private school? I shall suggest that the common factor in
discussion of fairness rather than of justice is the notion of control. The rich person who
inherited her money did nothing to earn it, in the same way that the privately educated
child had nothing to do with her parents being able to give her better schooling that might
enable her to do better in the future. This ties fairness to the elimination of luck. If justice
demands that a citizen’s position in society is due to ‘relevant reasons’, then fairness is
about a citizen’s position being determined by factors within her control, as opposed to
influenced by luck. This is the principal difference between the concepts of justice and
fairness.
The significance of moral obligation