The Danger Of Virtue

How fairness invites exploitation in a broken society.

Many people hold the belief that fairness invites reciprocal fairness. That honesty earns respect. That acting in good faith encourages others to do the same. It is a comforting assumption. It is also false.

Fairness functions only within systems that actively reward it or enforce it. Where enforcement is absent, fairness ceases to be a virtue and become…