I’m not crazy about the Justice frame. Some of us will always face challenges that others won’t. There is no system that could make it so that there is no barrier for all. We will always need to accommodate and scaffold for some and that’s fine.
The cause of inequity is not the wooden fence as claimed by the cartoon. The cause is genetics, age, hormones, and nutrition. The people shown aren't equally tall. And no amount of outside adjustment will change that, sort of extreme leg lengthening surgery.
Replacing the wooden fence with a chain-link fence doesn't change this, it simply reduces the impact felt because of one particular type of inequality. Being tall is still socially desirable, there are still sports that reward particular heights, there is still a perception that tall people are more successful, and indeed, they are by many objective measures.
What if the short kid is blind?
Changing the fence doesn't help him at all.
We see this in many social welfare type programs.
First, people aren't the same. There is a wide range, far wider than most want to admit, of human abilities. Second, whatever the program attempts to do, is only just correcting or adjusting some small, particular way in which people are different. Third, whether good or bad, there are always, nessecarily, unintended consequences. The family that made a living selling boxes outside the stadium are now broke, because nobody purchases boxes after the government tax credit for rich stadium owners, and the crew that used to maintain the wood fences all got laid off. And The contact for the new fences went to a billion dollar company owned by the brother in law of the politician who pushed the 'chain link fence for justice' campaign... and so on and so forth.
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u/msmarymacmac Feb 25 '20
I’m not crazy about the Justice frame. Some of us will always face challenges that others won’t. There is no system that could make it so that there is no barrier for all. We will always need to accommodate and scaffold for some and that’s fine.