Fair Inequality?

I would like to share an interesting piece I read recently from a booked titled The Pig that Wants to be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher. I wonder how often one would encounter similar situation; my bet is very often.

Chapter 87: Fair Inequality

John and Margaret went shopping to buy Christmas presents for their three sons: Matthew, aged fourteen, Mark, who is twelve, and Luke, ten. The loving parents always tried to treat their children equally. This year, they ha budgeted to spend $100 on each of them.

For once it looked as if their shopping would be trouble free, for they soon found what they were looking for; handheld PlayBoy game consuls at $100 each. Just as they were about to take the three to the checkout, John noticed a special offer. If you bought two of the new, top of the range PlayBoyPlusMax consuls at $150 each, you would get an original PlayBoy free. They could spend the same amount of money and get superior goods.

'We can't do that,' said Margaret. 'That would be unfair, since one of the boys would be getting less than the others.'

'But Margaret,' said John, excited at the thought of borrowing his sons' new toys, 'how can it be unfair? This way none of them get a worse gift than the would have done, and two of them do better. But if we don't take the offer, two of the kids are worse off than they would otherwise be.'

'I want them to be equal,' replied Margaret.

'Even if it means making them worse off?'

Source: A Theory of Justice by John Rawls (Harvard University Press, 1971)

The Pig that Wants to be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher by Julian Baggini (2005, PLUME). Picture from: Barnes & Noble