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How Fair is Life?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Kaiser, Oct 30, 2014.

  1. Kaiser

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    I've often heard "Life Isn't Fair", and in response to a variety of things. I used to hate that phrase, and to be honest, I still kind of do. I'm sure, most of you have heard this as well, and you have our own opinion on it.

    However, that isn't all I'm asking for here. Basically, I'm asking, should life be fair? Should it be made, to allow others, better chances and opportunities to advance/progress? Is there still any unfair advantages, that individuals or groups possess, that honestly, they should not?

    To sum it all up. What makes life not fair, and are there ways we could change this?
     
  2. HuskyPup

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    Not at all fair, or unfair to me; I see it more as an admixture of effort and chance, set against neutral cosmic forces that could care less about a person's so-called fate, one way or the other. To me, God is dead, Karma is dead, and fate is an artificial construct.

    And yet, if I had to say it terms of one's well being, then not at all fair, because so much is determined by the 'accident of birth', and how much $ your parents have. Your chances of having a happy, long life vary greatly depending on if you're born in North Korea, or to a middle-class family in Connecticut. And given the widening gap between rich and poor, it is getting even less and less fair.
     
    #2 HuskyPup, Oct 30, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2014
  3. ahardlife

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    Ive learned to cope with it.I agree sometimes life can be shitty but it get's better dealing with life's pitfalls in your own way .
     
  4. Aussie792

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    Life is not fair. But the people who say that as a way to tell you not to get your hopes up are the ones perpetuating that unfairness, ignoring or just being callously indifferent to the different needs of people, and denying help for them when their disadvantage really means that they should be given so much more focus and effort.

    There are enormous class, racial, gender, geographical and other disparities in the world. It would make either an extremely dim or sheltered* person to not realise that. My opportunities are what I make of them, because I've nothing major holding me back. Education, money, gender (which is not as significant in my immediate context as it is in others, but still grants favours), my race, being in an extremely well-provided for city etc. Others are not so lucky. In fact, what I have is essentially atrocious decadence compared to what many people in the world have.

    Even regions famed for their progressiveness and equality are still subject to basic flaws such as classism and slight-to-significant gender/racial inequalities, and a globalised world means that inequalities overseas are the inequalities the denizens of the richer world partake of. The lovely, apparently egalitarian paradises run rampant with internal divisions and the exportation of suffering from which they still benefit.

    Life certainly should be made fairer. High-quality education shouldn't be limited to private and elite public schools, medical infrastructure should be available to all and problems such as starvation should not be turned away from because their alleviation wouldn't bring a direct profit to those who possess and sell the food.

    To truly fix problems of injustice, we all have to recognise them first. The most infuriating thing is the demand that one should "do something instead of talking." Pointing out the issue is a first step that is greatly important, and constitutes probably the most difficult step in changing problems. These issues can't be solved with indifference from those who have the power to change them.

    *to be sheltered from such pervasive truths is a further sign of the luxury of privileged ignorance
     
    #4 Aussie792, Oct 30, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2014
  5. Hexagon

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    I don't care on a personal level. I've had more than my share of adversity, but I've gotten through it, and I think the value of what I have left to achieve lies at least partially in the struggle to achieve it. But I say this from a point of view of both someone with a developed sense of identity; if I had yet to be born, I'd imagine I would want different circumstances. And secondly, I say it from the point of view of someone born into the privileges of the west, and enough money to never be truly poor. I can overcome some of the disadvantages I had, but many are far more disadvantaged.

    I think total fairness is missing the point. What we do need, though, is a world in which no one lacks the basic necessities of life, and a world in which, no matter the culture someone finds themselves in, their future can be fulfilling and meaningful.
     
  6. HuskyPup

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    That's an excellent point. It reminds me that the poverty level of New York City is about the same as the US state of Alabama, both being about 21%. But what is striking is the vast degree of wealth in NYC. And NYC's 'stop and frisk' program speaks for itself.

    In some ways, NYC is like a giant slum, with a few spots for rich people.
     
  7. Austin

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    Life is unfair. You'll never be able to make it fair unless you make everyone exactly the same. Even at the basic level, such as genetics, some people "win the lottery" so to speak. Most have a mix of good and bad, though; some have it terrible. Unless our genetics are equal, we'll still have people who are lucky and those who are not. Similar to nature is nurture which would have to be the same for everyone to have a fair shot as well... everyone will always have different circumstances which they cannot control.

    While I think it's good to try to make things fair, to the extent we can control... certain things like affirmative action I think are detrimental to society.
     
  8. NingyoBroken

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    Life is not fair, because we do not always get what we want.

    Life is especially not fair for someone like me, because we must go through our entire lives watching those of our (not biological) gender become that which we cannot so easily become.
     
  9. Blossom85

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    Life isn't fair, but I think you can make it more unfair or more fairer based on your own opinion of the world and what you can personally do yourself to make it a better life or a worse life. One could say life hasn't been fair for me with all that I have gone though in my life, yet I don't see it as unfair.. I see it as almost a blessing in a way because I can see the world through different eyes and treat all people the way I myself want to be treated. I know what it is like to live a life of hardship and difficulties, and whilst I do admit to saying life is not fair, (usually when I am in hospital or sick) but instead of being down and having a defeated attitude and not wanting to do anything, I am positive and have made my life more enjoyable for myself, so whilst life is not fair.. It is what and how you make your own life that matters.. I feel you always have the choice to rise above the unfair ness situation and make your life better.
     
  10. DragKing69

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    I find it's as simple as this:
    Are you or are you not on EC?
     
  11. Argentwing

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    Ironically enough, it's "too" fair. Everyone has an equal chance of being born into privilege. Those of us who aren't have to make do in a world that is extremely stacked against us.*

    In the shorter perspective though, no, it's not fair. It's skewed so far in favor of the ones who are already in a good spot that the scale has completely fallen over. All we can do is live within the system and work to find happiness.
     
  12. Aussie792

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    Make things fairer, but do nothing to actively make things fair?

    I find your first statement there extremely difficult to believe given what you say straight after it.
     
  13. Austin

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    I'm not necessarily sure how. There are plenty of ways we can make life fairer that you probably did not even consider that do not include affirmative action. For one, we can (and do) research treatment and cures for hereditary disorders which will level the playing field for those people. I won't even get into affirmative action. I think we can try to make things fairer but people's good intentions to make things fairer sometimes don't actually benefit society overall. It's a fine line.
     
  14. Aussie792

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    You think poverty is a genetic trait?
     
  15. Austin

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  16. jjdrews

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    Life isn't fair, it's about choices, learning from mistakes and growing as a person. I believe we all wants happiness, but often times we get stuck in the past that we let the present past us by and lost for our future. Life is about appreciating our experiences.
     
  17. Aussie792

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    Then what is one of those "plenty of other ways that probably did not even consider"?
     
  18. Austin

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    I mentioned one: research into hereditary diseases and the development of cures/treatments to give people born with severe issues a more fair and level playing field.
     
  19. Aussie792

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    That sorts one problem; that of knowing how to combat disease.

    It doesn't address the ability to access it, nor does it address countless other problems of injustice.

    And you'd have to think me rather stupid if you actually thought I'd never considered that medicine should be aimed at helping alleviate congenital defects.
     
  20. Austin

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    I was just answering your question.

    I didn't address those other issues because 1) Didn't feel like it... because 2) It's very complex and there is no definitive way to solve those issues. You seem to enjoy putting words into my mouth.

    And it wasn't meant to imply you're stupid. It's more meant to suggest that there is other ways life is "unfair" rather than just in terms of poverty, which is what I think is what immediately comes to mind for most people.