Values / Fairness

Fairness

Applying the same standard to people in the same situation, including when you would rather not.

What this value tries to protect

Equal treatment when interests compete, and trust that outcomes track reasons rather than favour.

Healthy expressions

Applying a rule to someone you like.
Declaring a conflict of interest before it matters.
Giving the same account of events to everyone.

Possible overextensions

Rigid consistency that ignores real differences in circumstance.
Treating equal shares as the only fair outcome.
Using process as a reason not to exercise judgement.

Common tensions

Fairness and Compassion
Fairness and Loyalty

Questions worth sitting with

When did an exception feel more right than the rule?
Who benefits from the standard you apply most consistently?
What would change if the person in front of you were a stranger?

Fairness is the value most likely to be invoked by both sides of the same argument. The disagreement is rarely about whether to be fair — it is about which comparison is the relevant one.