It’s a pretty simple pair of pictures. They’re next to each other and they only have slight differences. In both of them there are three kids, each bigger than the next, and three boxes. In both pictures, all three kids are trying to watch a baseball game from beyond the outfield wall. In the first picture, each kid has a box and is standing on it to try to see over the wall, but in the second the boxes are divided unevenly and the shortest kid is given two, the middle kid is given one, and the tallest kid doesn’t get a box. Which of these is more fair? The first picture where every kid has one box to stand on to try to see, or the second where the shortest kid is given more boxes because it’s hardest for him to see? Well, the answer depends on your view of fairness because both of the scenarios are fair in their own way.

What I neglected to mention earlier is that when each of the kids has their own box, the two taller kids can see, but the shortest kid is still not tall enough to see the game. However, in the second picture, all three kids can see because they all end up at the same eye level when the boxes are split unevenly. I also left out the fact that each picture is titled. The first is “Equality.” The second is “Justice.”

I hope after this extra information most people would say that the “Justice” picture is a better representation of fairness. The point of the pictures is to show what is truly right in situations isn’t always what is equal, but what is just. Justice is about making using morals and ethics to find true fairness, while equality is about having a level playing field for everyone no matter the circumstance. Equality treats everyone the same and justice does not, yet I still think the latter is more fair.

How many times does the teacher of a class help the smartest kids? Probably pretty rarely. They try to help the kids who are struggling the most and can gain the most from the extra help. Is this showing equality? Not at all. It’s completely biased and totally against the supposed equality of the education system. So why don’t people complain about it more often? Probably because they see the true fairness in it. They realize that justice trumps equality because the people who need the extra help are the ones getting it, while those who can still manage without the teacher don’t get as much of their time. And, in this instance, the system might not be equal as it was intended to be, but it most definitely is fair.

The difference between equality and justice also lies in the fact that justice can be unique for each individual based on their own sense of fairness and personal opinions. That may be why people tend to want equality, but for true justice to occur there has to be judgements on a human level occasionally. If someone is bleeding out should they to wait in a hospital line behind a nosebleed? No, because one of them obviously needs more immediate attention. Equality can’t be implemented in this circumstance because they playing field is already uneven. Only through a personal judgement of prioritizing the needs of the two people can justice happen in this situation. It be unequal, but it’s fair.

So what is fairness? My hope is that you see it more as justice now instead of equality because equality isn’t always fair. It’s an illusion of fairness that works when there’s a level playing field, but it falls apart as fairness in all other cases. So, the only thing that should truly be equal is the justice in every situation.