Fairness

Sometimes I wonder where human beings ever came up with the concept of fair.

It doesn't seem to be one of those things that really exists in nature. At least, not so that I can recognize it as a naturally occurring phenomena.

No where have I found the law of fairness. As close as I can figure out, it is a coping mechanism for living in groups, where weaker members are valued for something other than their strength, or cunning.

You can follow all the rules and still not be fair. Some might even consider it a weakness factor in the game to be top dog. Fairness requires judgment calls, compassion, intelligence.

Brute strength, monetary power, vicious cunning, all are tools of those clawing their way to the top. Look at herds of animals. The bull male dominates until he becomes too old to hold his own. Then he is virtually ostracized and forced to leave the herd, often being eaten by predators, or starving to death on his own. In a world where everything was fair, he would be given at least as much care as he had provided good for his herd, but that is not a factor.

Finding the value in working for the highest good is not an easy concept to demonstrate, or maintain. It requires an intelligence and vision that goes beyond today and maybe even a lot of tomorrows. It means doing the hard things for the right reasons and doing them under adverse conditions sometimes, often without anyone else noticing, or even appreciating what is being done. In fact, the fairness factor does not even guarantee you will not be persecuted, or ostracized yourself.

Fair is an evolutionary concept that fascinates me.