ThoughtMonster

“Fairness” is a curious notion. It is instilled into many that there must always be a sense of fair play and justice in life and there is moral outrage whenever it is not the case. Why are we so besotted with this? Imagine a planet where the concept of fairness was an alien one, where winning at all costs was everything and cheating, intimidation and bullying were legitimate tools to have in the bag. This world of dog eat dog, would it be so bad? Would our lives be any worse? Would society break down completely? It is easy to believe that such a place would be a living hell, that the gentle people would be forever reduced to the caste of subservient weaklings to be pushed around by the top dogs. Already many will feel their hackles rise at the previous sentence , a prickly feeling of self righteousness and outrage at the unfairness of it all, the needle on their moral compass spinning like a top. But hang on, when I last looked the meek were still a long way off from inheriting the earth.

In our selfish alien world there is no queuing only shoving, there is no asking first, there is no helping, there is no teaching, there is no guiding, no praying for forgiveness. But people still laugh and cry and worry and hope . They still plan, have jobs, hobbies, take holidays, fall in love, eat, drink, talk. It is just that the priorities have shifted . There is no issue of fairness to contend with in this place , life is untainted by such concerns, there are simply winners and losers , that is how it is.

Diego Maradona, neat, compact, athletic, rises majestically to flap the ball into the net over the rooted and hapless Shilton. It is a glorious cheat of a goal. Argentina are ecstatic, they are winners, they will be champions. England are crestfallen and bowed. Shilton chases the referee in outrage and disbelief, with his arm aloft he pleads for reason and a sense of fair play.