Fair vs Equal? Do you know the difference? How does it apply to government?

Especially in the last few years people are beginning to confuse the concept of Fair and Equal. Although a lot of overlap exists between them, they are NOT the same. Using them interchangeably is very harmful and I will explain why.

First what is Fair and Fairness? To be Fair means everyone plays by the same rules. No one is able to cheat in a fair game.

What is Equal or Equality? To be Equal means everybody has exactly the same. In an equal game there is no winner or losers because everyone must be treated the same (equally).

Imagine a football game for a minute. A Fair football game everyone plays by the same rules. However there can only be 1 winner at the end! If the football game were to be Equal then every team would have to be the winner or no team the winner. Another example is a chess game that results in a stalemate, that game is both Fair and Equal since both people played by the same rules and no one got more or less (win or loose) at the end. A tie is a Fair and Equal game where as a game played till there is a winner and loser(s) is only Fair but not Equal.

When this is applied to politics you can begin to see why it is dangerous. People demand equality but forget about fairness far too often today. This is what leads to the idea that capitalism is a bad thing. They falsely assume that everyone should have exactly the same and no one getting more than another. That is not Fair to those who provide more to society and encourages the most productive to become lazy and do less or give up entirely. In order for governments to utilize this productively they must force people to work and make everyone but the leaders live in poverty. This is the only way a government can survive with this form of system in place. Everyone equal makes everyone poor. We need FAIRNESS in our government with EQUAL protection under the law. That form of government ensures everyone has an equal opportunity and treatment under the law while having a Fair system that allows them to win or loose based on their input, intelligence, work ethic, and as always a little luck!

Cryptocurrency is a great example of Equal protection with Fair playing grounds. We know some people have more than others, but we also know no one can cheat or get more without doing more for it. That is a very Fair and Equal Protection system. That is how governments need to operate to ensure the rights of their citizens AND flourish by having them work harder to get ahead!