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-	Two of the eurozone's biggest economies have fallen into recession, according to the latest economic figures.	+	FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr Obama have in mind when he deploys the f-word? It may not be the case that fairness is, as Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, puts it, "a concept invented so dumb people could participate in arguments". But it cannot be denied that fairness is an idea both mutable and contested. Indeed, last week's state-of-the-union address seems to contain several distinct conceptions of fairness worth drawing out and reflecting upon.
-	Italy and the Netherlands both saw their economies shrink by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction.	+	Toward the beginning of his speech, as Mr Obama was trying to draw a parallel between post-second world war America and today's post-Iraq war America, he offered this rather stark choice:
-	Germany had its first negative quarter since 2009 with a decline of 0.2%, compared with the previous quarter.	+	We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.
-	But in France there was surprise growth of 0.2% at the end of last year, attributed to healthy export growth.	+	Here we have three distinct conceptions of fairness in a single sentence.
-	Overall the 17 nations that make up the eurozone saw economic activity shrink 0.3% in the fourth quarter. By comparison the United States reported growth of 0.7%.	+	To get a "fair shot" is to be offered the opportunity to participate fully and succeed within the country's institutions. This is, I think, the least controversial conception of fairness in America's political discourse. Conservatives who strenuously object to the idea that the American system should aim at "equality of outcomes" will sometimes affirm "equality of opportunity" as an alternative. But this is a mistake. To really equalise opportunity requires precisely the sort of intolerably constant, comprehensive, invasive redistribution conservatives rightly believe to be required for the equalisation of outcomes. If one is prepared to accept substantial inequalities in outcome, it follows that one is also prepared to accept substantial inequalities in opportunity.
-	Continue reading the main story	+
-	�Start Quote	+
-	Greece may be burning. Growth may be slowing. But the recognised German barometer of hope over fear shows far more Germans looking on the bright side than those down in the dumps�	+	Getting a fair shot doesn't require equalising opportunity so much as ensuring that everyone has a good enough chance in life. The content of "good enough" is of course open to debate, but most Americans seem to agree that access to a good education is the greater part of a "good enough" and thus fair shot. Naturally, there is strong partisan disagreement over the kinds of education reform that will do right by young Americans.
-		+
-	End Quote	+
-	image of Stephen Evans Stephen Evans BBC News, Berlin	+
-		+
-	* Germany: Reasons to be cheerful	+
-		+
-	The eurozone has not slipped into recession as it reported growth of 0.1% in the third quarter.	+
-	'Better than feared'	+
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-	For 2011 as a whole, the French economy grew by 1.7% and Germany 3%.	+
-		+
-	Europe's debt crisis has already pushed Greece, Portugal and Belgium into recession, defined by two consecutive quarters of contraction.	+
-		+
-	Economists forecast that Germany is likely to avoid that scenario and say the latest growth figures could have been worse.	+
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-	"This is better than feared after retail sales and industrial production turned out badly in December. The decline is due to the euro crisis. It caused a drastic loss in confidence among companies and consumers." said Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank.	+
-		+
-	"Action from the ECB and the government has restored confidence. There is hope that we will emerge quickly from the economic dip. We expect growth again in the second quarter at the latest, provided that the euro crisis remains under control." he said.	+

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Revision as of 20:53, 14 November 2012

FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr Obama have in mind when he deploys the f-word? It may not be the case that fairness is, as Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, puts it, "a concept invented so dumb people could participate in arguments". But it cannot be denied that fairness is an idea both mutable and contested. Indeed, last week's state-of-the-union address seems to contain several distinct conceptions of fairness worth drawing out and reflecting upon.

Toward the beginning of his speech, as Mr Obama was trying to draw a parallel between post-second world war America and today's post-Iraq war America, he offered this rather stark choice:

We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

Here we have three distinct conceptions of fairness in a single sentence.

To get a "fair shot" is to be offered the opportunity to participate fully and succeed within the country's institutions. This is, I think, the least controversial conception of fairness in America's political discourse. Conservatives who strenuously object to the idea that the American system should aim at "equality of outcomes" will sometimes affirm "equality of opportunity" as an alternative. But this is a mistake. To really equalise opportunity requires precisely the sort of intolerably constant, comprehensive, invasive redistribution conservatives rightly believe to be required for the equalisation of outcomes. If one is prepared to accept substantial inequalities in outcome, it follows that one is also prepared to accept substantial inequalities in opportunity.

Getting a fair shot doesn't require equalising opportunity so much as ensuring that everyone has a good enough chance in life. The content of "good enough" is of course open to debate, but most Americans seem to agree that access to a good education is the greater part of a "good enough" and thus fair shot. Naturally, there is strong partisan disagreement over the kinds of education reform that will do right by young Americans.