Episode 4 | On Fairness

What does it mean for a situation to be fair and how does this relate to notions of equality, equity, and justice? We sit down with Angarika Deb, a cognitive anthropologist, to chat about what fairness means and how to think about it. This takes us to conversations about political movements, the communication of information, social justice, and the fundamentally relative nature of fairness.

Show Notes:

1. Complexity of Fairness: The complexity of defining fairness, highlighting how its perception changes across different contexts and scenarios, such as gender roles and family dynamics.

2. Equity vs. Equality: Distinction between equity (proportional returns for efforts and contributions) and equality (even distribution of inputs and outputs), with examples to illustrate how these concepts apply in various societal contexts.

3. Subjectivity and Context in Fairness: The subjective nature of fairness, suggesting that understanding and building equations that reflect individuals' perceptions are crucial in addressing fairness in relationships and societal structures.

4. Mutual Acceptability and Listening: Achieving fairness often requires mutual acceptability and active listening, suggesting a more inclusive and participatory approach to understanding and implementing fairness.

5. Implications for Social Justice and Policy: Exploring how fairness relates to broader social justice efforts and policy making, touching upon affirmative action and the potential for equity to drive policy decisions.

6. Challenges of Universal Fairness: The difficulty in creating universal standards for fairness due to varying cultural and situational variables, suggesting a need for flexibility and adaptation in fairness-related policies and practices.

7. Innate Drive for Fairness: The human inclination towards fairness and how this drive influences societal dynamics, including discussions on the potential evolutionary origins of this inclination.

8. Fairness in Resource Distribution: Practical examples of fairness in action, such as resource distribution and the management of communal goods, highlighting the challenges and considerations in ensuring fair access and contribution.

9. Role of Power and Privilege: The role of power dynamics and privilege in perceptions of fairness, with an emphasis on how those in advantaged positions perceive and react to fairness initiatives.

10. Methodological Approaches to Studying Fairness: The importance of combining top-down theoretical approaches with bottom-up, qualitative research to better understand and implement concepts of fairness.

11. Future Directions in Fairness Research: Thoughts on future research directions, including the development of more nuanced theories of fairness that incorporate the complexities of human social interactions and societal structures

References

• John Nash: Referenced implicitly through the discussion of bargaining models, particularly the Nash bargaining model which is applied in economics and game theory to analyze situations of negotiation or conflict.

• Amartya Sen: Mentioned in the context of exploring fairness, gender equality, and social justice, especially regarding his work on welfare economics and social choice theory.

• Daniel Nettle and Rebecca Sacks: Their work on social dynamics and decision-making under varying conditions of societal stress or conflict could be inferred from discussions about how environmental factors influence perceptions of fairness.

• Frans de Waal: His research on primates and the concept of fairness could be referenced when discussing innate senses of fairness and equity in non-human animals.

• Marx and Socialism: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"