Fairness involves fairness to the providers of help and fairness to those in need of help.
A sense of ‘fairness’ is often suggested when people are asked to name a leading quality of the British people. When the Tories (unfortunately fleetingly) chose ’a fair deal for everyone’ as their organising slogan (in 2003) they were quickly followed by copycat New Labour. Tony Blair promised ’A future fair for all’.
Fairness versus equality and laissez-faire
For Labour fairness is mainly about helping the underdog. Compassionate conservatives also support special help for society’s most vulnerable people but they understand another side to fairness. For conservatives fairness is less doctrinaire than socialist ideas of equality but still much kinder than libertarian ideas of laissez-faire.
Fairness to ‘the providers’ for vulnerable people
Recognising the wisdom of Boetcker’s ‘Ten Cannots’ conservatives reject socialist conceptions of equality because they know that the necessary advance of social justice depends upon fair reward for the vigorously virtuous.
Iain Duncan Smith made this point in a March 2003 speech. He said:
“[Conservatives] understand that fairness cuts two ways. Conservatives appreciate you have to be fair to the people who pay for the public services and for society's other responsibilities. People who build and run businesses. People who provide for their families and their futures. People who play by the rules and aren't a burden to the police or courts. People who are patriotic. People who advance social justice by giving to their communities.”
Equality isn’t fair
One nation conservatives will support limited redistribution because they worry about extremes of wealth. Conservatives also know, however, that absolute equality of outcome isn’t fair because most people have different priorities in life...
Some people will focus on raising a family, others on the pursuit of wealth, others on travel, sport or the arts. A fair society will give every person reasonable opportunity to pursue their own paths to peace and happiness. A fair society will also give people a safety-net and second chances when things go wrong. But a fair society will not attempt to create an absolute equality of outcome when aspirations, efforts and good fortune are not distributed equally in the first place.
Comments