ABSTRACT
In the study of distributive justice, there are two fundamental actors and three fundamental quantities. The observer reflects on the situation of a rewardee. The observer perceives the rewardee’s actual reward, forms or retrieves an idea of the just reward for the rewardee, and assesses the fairness or unfairness of the actual reward, producing the justice evaluation. These three quantities form the crucial nexus. Though much comes before (reward-relevant characteristics, for example) and much will follow (a strategy to alter the actual reward, for example), this trio occupies a central place, illuminating the essence of distributive justice processes and generating their long reach. 2
