Defining Justice and Fairness

At its heart, Justice is the moral principle of 'giving each person their due.' Philosophers often divide this into different types. The most common is Distributive Justice, which deals with how we share resources, honors, or even chores. When we ask if a grade or a paycheck is 'fair,' we are usually talking about distributive justice. It isn't just about following the law; it is about whether the outcome aligns with what is morally right. In a society, we often agree to a Social Contract, an unspoken agreement where we follow certain rules in exchange for the protection of our rights and a fair system of living.

People often use the words Equality and Equity interchangeably, but in philosophy, they are very different. Equality means providing the exact same $1:1$ ratio of resources to every individual. If everyone gets a size 10 shoe, that is equality. Equity, however, recognizes that each person has different circumstances. It allocates the exact resources needed to reach an equal outcome. In the shoe example, equity means giving everyone a shoe that actually fits their foot. While equality focuses on the input being the same, equity focuses on the result being fair.

Sometimes, justice isn't about what you get, but how the decision was made. This is Procedural Justice. Even if you are unhappy with a result—like losing a basketball game—you are more likely to accept it as 'just' if you believe the referees were unbiased and followed the rules. For a process to be procedurally just, it must be consistent, neutral, and allow people to have a 'voice' in the decision. In schools, this means rules are applied to everyone the same way, and students have a chance to explain their side of a story before a consequence is given.

Philosopher John Rawls proposed a 'thought experiment' to find true fairness called the Veil of Ignorance. Imagine you are designing the rules for a new society, but you don't know who you will be in that society. You don't know if you will be rich or poor, healthy or sick, a star athlete or someone with a disability. Rawls argued that from behind this 'veil,' you would naturally create the most just rules possible because you would want to ensure that even the person at the very bottom is treated fairly. This helps us move past our own biases to see what is truly equitable.