Bart Wilson mulls over the term:
Did you know that fair is one-to-one untranslatable into any other language--that it is distinctly Anglo in origin? And a relatively new word at that? (Late 18th century, actually)...No matter how much we may feel that fairness is a pure principle, it’s really a regular social rule, a custom. (Another surprisingly revealing word: you have probably seen the words “customary rates” applied to gratuities and sales commissions). Fairness really boils down to an issue of agreement: can we agree on what rules this particular context calls for?
James Joyner thinks it's bull.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/01/fair-is-fair/206296/
