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Contra Private Fairness

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  • BART J. WILSON

Abstract

This paper attempts to clarify our understanding of the everyday use of fair as we apply it to economic behavior. I first examine the decomposition of fair into its semantic primitives and discuss implications of recent research which indicates that the word is untranslatable into any other language, i.e., the concept of fair is distinctly Anglo. I also make a Wittgensteinian appeal to context and human sociality as an indispensable tether for what we mean by a fair experience and what we epistemologically know about fairness. The principal implication of this is that rules that guide fair behavior are not located in an individual’s private utility function but instead reside in the connections that the individual has to his cultural environs.
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Suggested Citation

  • Bart J. Wilson, 2012. "Contra Private Fairness," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 407-435, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:71:y:2012:i:2:p:407-435
    DOI: j.1536-7150.2012.00836.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Gächter, Simon & Kölle, Felix & Quercia, Simone, 2022. "Preferences and perceptions in Provision and Maintenance public goods," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 338-355.
    2. Marina Chugunova & Wolfgang J. Luhan, 2025. "Ruled by robots: preference for algorithmic decision makers and perceptions of their choices," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 202(1), pages 1-24, January.
    3. Smith, Vernon L., 2010. "Theory and experiment: What are the questions?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 3-15, January.
    4. Wilson, Bart J., 2008. "Language games of reciprocity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 365-377, November.
    5. Joy Buchanan & Elif E. Demiral & Ümit Sağlam, 2025. "Effort transparency and fairness," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 202(3), pages 611-626, March.

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