Against Fairness

A sound premise for a book.

Children's entertainment, like "Sesame Street," erroneously labels basic good behavior—don't be racist, share—as "fairness" when in fact it is "tolerance" or "generosity," both of which are fully compatible with favoritism. Mr. Asma makes a powerful case that egalitarianism is driven principally by envy, and in our materialistic, post-religious age, emotions like envy "find new secular outlets." 

Fairness has become a collective faith, especially on the left. Sometimes the consequences are comical, as when schools try to legislate equal "valentine outcomes" for every student on Feb. 14. But often it carries a heavier price.

I always  thought the old cheesy Skee Lo song "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller..." captured the absurdity of "fairness" as a virtue quite well.