ABSTRACT
A distribution of any sort of value is equitable if it is claim-proportionate. As an aspect of impartial justice, fairness differs crucially from subjective equity, since with fairness one’s concern is for the equitable distribution of impersonal or interpersonal value. With subjective equity one tries to achieve a distribution that equitably accommodates the personalized and potentially idiosyncratic evaluations of the individuals involved. Accordingly, in some circumstances people will fare better in a benevolent allocation than they could possibly do for themselves as independent agents making pair wise trades on their own. In consequence, while paternalism concerned to optimize the subjective equity of distributions may make good social and economic sense, it is something very different from fairness. From the subjective angle of the recipients, a benevolently equitable allocation is generally preferable to strict fairness. The idea of a fair price is one of the fundamental aspects of the conception of fairness.
