Practical Fairness, Reasonable Equality

Equality sounds great on paper. Everyone gets the same slice of the pie, no one feels left out, and the world is magically in balance. But here’s the thing: life doesn’t work that way. Chasing perfect equality is like chasing the horizon. Fairness, on the other hand? That’s where real progress happens.

“Perfection of means and confusion of ends seem to characterize our age.” – Albert Einstein

Perfect equality is a trap. It looks noble, but it’s exhausting and usually pointless. You end up in endless debates over definitions. What’s fair to one person feels like a rip-off to another. Cultures, perspectives, and contexts are too diverse to fit into one universal blueprint.

Fairness skips the perfectionist crap and focuses on what works. It’s messy, sure, but it gets things done. Instead of balancing scales endlessly, fairness frees up time and energy to actually create something meaningful.

Harmony isn’t about balance—it’s about not losing your shit when things aren’t perfect.

Sometimes, I imagine fast-forwarding 10 years into the future. One scenario: I keep grinding for equality, obsessing over every tiny imbalance. The other: I focus on fairness and move forward. It’s not even close—the fairness path is better. I get more done, build better collaborations, and end up delivering more value for everyone. It’s not just simpler—it’s smarter.

graph LR
    A[Current State] --> B[Fairness and Progress]
    A --> C[Perfect Equality]
    B --> D[Win-Win Outcomes]
    B --> E[Balanced Growth]
    C --> F[Exhaustion and Stagnation]

Fairness isn’t about giving up on equality; it’s about prioritizing outcomes over appearances. It’s progress over perfection. The time and energy you save by letting go of rigid ideals? That’s where the magic happens.

“Inequality can have a bad outcome, but equality, for its own sake, is a bad starting point.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb