Level or Fair? (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Do you want a level playing field or a fair playing field? That is the question before you. They are not the same thing. You must choose one, since the choice of one rules out the other. Let’s consider the options more closely. Perhaps that will help with your decision. What is a level playing field? What is a fair playing field? And what’s the difference anyway?
A level playing field means everyone is equally matched. No one is allowed to be smarter, richer, more talented or better looking than anyone else. If someone starts to gain an advantage, rules are in place to check such actions and keep things “level.” Similarly, if someone discovers a new way to gain advantage, the rules are changed or more rules are added to, again, keep things “level.” In a level playing field, if someone chooses to sit in the sidelines, that person is “awarded” points taken from those playing the hardest. A level playing field is all about equality of outcome regardless of ability.
On the other hand, a fair playing field means everyone is allowed equal opportunity. Everyone has equal access to the field. On a fair playing field, the rules ensure equality of access, not equality of outcome. Everyone on the field has equal opportunity to pick up the ball and run with it. In a fair playing field, people are encouraged to use their intelligence, ability and determination to score as much as they want. However, no one is forced to score or forced to play; but those who choose to sit on the sidelines are not “rewarded” by being given points taken from those playing.
We’re often told the playing field must be kept level or it’s not “fair.” However, as we’ve just seen, “level” is about outcome; “fair” is about access and opportunity. If your access and opportunity are denied or restricted, such a system could hardly said to be “fair.”
Would we consider it “fair” if rules were in place forcing sports teams to always be equally matched (a “level” playing field)? Would we think it “fair” if rules forced a player out of a game if he started scoring “too many” points? Would we think it “fair” if the rules took points away from a high-scoring player and gave them to the other team simply because he was scoring “too much?” Would we think it “fair” if winning teams were prohibited from participating in playoffs? Would we think it “fair” if outstanding individual sports talent was somehow “punished” or discouraged?
I think almost everyone would see immediately such rules are not fair and would see clearly the difference between “level” and “fair.” Yet, when it comes to government, we are repeatedly told that enforcement of a “level” playing field is fair – and far too many people go along with this nonsensical definition.
Since at least the early 1900s, progressives from all political parties, in the name of “fairness,” have worked to make things “level” (which, if examined in detail, for them means the powerful remain powerful and everyone else remains, well, not powerful). We can see this all around us, with mountains of laws and regulations which now affect nearly every aspect of every person’s daily life. Can you even name one thing you do which is not in some way affected by at least one law or regulation? This “leveling” of the playing field is always done, they say, in the name of “fairness.” Is it really fair?
Is it really fair, for example, for a person to be granted or denied college access based not on ability, but skin color? Is it really fair for an entrepreneur to face a nearly un-navigable sea of bureaucracy in order to start a business? Is it really fair for someone to work hard only to have the fruits of his labor forcibly taken from him and given to those who choose to be idle? Is it really fair for government to “punish” productivity and productive people? The list could go on and on, but I think the point is clear: “level” is not “fair” and “fair” is not “level.”
So, what do you think? Which is it: level or fair? It’s time to chose.
As an aside, my sports team analogy is already happening in youth sports: http://sedalia.fox4kc.com/content/undefeated-youth-football-team-banned-playoffs. What kind of lessons are we teaching our younger generations?
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Semper Alacer 
Level or Fair?
Level or Fair? (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Do you want a level playing field or a fair playing field? That is the question before you. They are not the same thing. You must choose one, since the choice of one rules out the other. Let’s consider the options more closely. Perhaps that will help with your decision. What is a level playing field? What is a fair playing field? And what’s the difference anyway?
A level playing field means everyone is equally matched. No one is allowed to be smarter, richer, more talented or better looking than anyone else. If someone starts to gain an advantage, rules are in place to check such actions and keep things “level.” Similarly, if someone discovers a new way to gain advantage, the rules are changed or more rules are added to, again, keep things “level.” In a level playing field, if someone chooses to sit in the sidelines, that person is “awarded” points taken from those playing the hardest. A level playing field is all about equality of outcome regardless of ability.
On the other hand, a fair playing field means everyone is allowed equal opportunity. Everyone has equal access to the field. On a fair playing field, the rules ensure equality of access, not equality of outcome. Everyone on the field has equal opportunity to pick up the ball and run with it. In a fair playing field, people are encouraged to use their intelligence, ability and determination to score as much as they want. However, no one is forced to score or forced to play; but those who choose to sit on the sidelines are not “rewarded” by being given points taken from those playing.
We’re often told the playing field must be kept level or it’s not “fair.” However, as we’ve just seen, “level” is about outcome; “fair” is about access and opportunity. If your access and opportunity are denied or restricted, such a system could hardly said to be “fair.”
Would we consider it “fair” if rules were in place forcing sports teams to always be equally matched (a “level” playing field)? Would we think it “fair” if rules forced a player out of a game if he started scoring “too many” points? Would we think it “fair” if the rules took points away from a high-scoring player and gave them to the other team simply because he was scoring “too much?” Would we think it “fair” if winning teams were prohibited from participating in playoffs? Would we think it “fair” if outstanding individual sports talent was somehow “punished” or discouraged?
I think almost everyone would see immediately such rules are not fair and would see clearly the difference between “level” and “fair.” Yet, when it comes to government, we are repeatedly told that enforcement of a “level” playing field is fair – and far too many people go along with this nonsensical definition.
Since at least the early 1900s, progressives from all political parties, in the name of “fairness,” have worked to make things “level” (which, if examined in detail, for them means the powerful remain powerful and everyone else remains, well, not powerful). We can see this all around us, with mountains of laws and regulations which now affect nearly every aspect of every person’s daily life. Can you even name one thing you do which is not in some way affected by at least one law or regulation? This “leveling” of the playing field is always done, they say, in the name of “fairness.” Is it really fair?
Is it really fair, for example, for a person to be granted or denied college access based not on ability, but skin color? Is it really fair for an entrepreneur to face a nearly un-navigable sea of bureaucracy in order to start a business? Is it really fair for someone to work hard only to have the fruits of his labor forcibly taken from him and given to those who choose to be idle? Is it really fair for government to “punish” productivity and productive people? The list could go on and on, but I think the point is clear: “level” is not “fair” and “fair” is not “level.”
So, what do you think? Which is it: level or fair? It’s time to chose.
As an aside, my sports team analogy is already happening in youth sports: http://sedalia.fox4kc.com/content/undefeated-youth-football-team-banned-playoffs. What kind of lessons are we teaching our younger generations?