Opening page…
Society
What did you do to deserve it?
Your success depends on hard work, but also on talents, parents, and luck you never chose. How much of the reward is yours by right?
Effort can matter without erasing the unearned conditions that made it possible. Work out what deserving something should entitle a person to keep.
Your answer
Nearby questions5
- Suppose punishing a guilty person would deter nobody, protect nobody, and change nothing. Would they still deserve punishment?
- What gives you a stronger claim to a safe, prosperous country than someone born just across its border?
- A law is unjust but was passed through a fair democratic process. When is breaking it a duty—and who gets to make that call?
- You must design society before finding out whether you will be rich or poor, healthy or ill, powerful or ignored. Which rules would you refuse to leave to luck?
- Should people be free to say things you believe are dangerous and hateful? Where would you draw a limit that you would trust your opponents to enforce?