Fairness

Fairness, or the property of being fair, is a term derived from Old English fæġer (fair, lovely, beautiful; pleasant, agreeable; attractive); it is commonly related to concepts of justice, and equitable, adequate, reasonable, or decent assessments, actions and behavior, as well as unblemished, beautiful, pleasing appearances, and sometimes specifically to light-toned colors, especially of skin or hair.

Quotes

• ... like a coin, the Nobel Prize has three sides. Its obverse, or positive side, corresponds to the respect and admiration it brings to science and scientists. Its reverse, or negative side, reflects how it punishes collaboration and causes ferocious competition for scarce resources. Lastly, the gilded medallion's unstable rim evokes the prize's uncertain future in our modern scientific era. Many young scientists now ask: Is the Nobel Prize a fair coin?
  • Brian Keating, Losing the Nobel prize: a story of cosmology, ambition, and the perils of science's highest honor. WW Norton & Company. 2018. 

• All's fair in love and war.
  • Francis Edward Smedley, in Frank Fairlegh: Scenes from the Life of a Private Pupil (1850).

• Because there is no precisely defined and widely agreed upon definition of fairness, what the term has come to mean in economic policy-making is that those with political power can restrict the options of individuals and enterprises, in order to produce whatever end result those in power choose to call "fair".
  • Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics, 4th ed. (2010), Ch. 24. “Non-Economic” Values.

See also

• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
• Justice