Playing the Game, or Not

Two men in the city's Central Park offered each other a welcoming hug, meeting for what might have been the thousandth time in their middle-aged lives. From their initial introduction, soon after graduating from different universities, they shared a dual bond: respect for each other and dissatisfaction with the world around them.

"Mr. Olduvai, I've been looking forward to this conversation since you pissed me off last time."

"Well, I can't promise it won't happen again, Mr. Rueul. But really I'm just glad Ada is giving up her time with you today. She's okay? And Marga?"

"Ada's fine ... thanks. She's been liking her alone time, so it's no problem. And Marga's back at school now. She left last Sunday. Her last semester."

Already!

"We're getting old, Jorge."

We are. And that makes time precious. So ...?

"Go for it."

The last thing we were talking about, Sam ... was ... freedom, I think.

"Exactly when you were pissing me off."

Without warning or rustle, a dozen starlings flew from a hackberry tree beside the asphalt path. Sounds of joyful children spilled from a playground nearby. But the two men were determined to hash out ideas of economic delusion that had percolated in their talks. Their challenge this day was that while they agreed there was delusion, Jorge saw delusion in society at large, while Sam saw delusion in Jorge.

How can freedom annoy you, Sam? I was trying to make the point that the only limit to it is fairness. Then you had to leave.

"Well, I have time now. And what you don't understand is that one man's fairness is another man's oppression."

Fairness is an equality of opportunity ...

"See? That's oppression. I'm already annoyed."

I didn't say anything oppressive!

"You said 'equality of opportunity.' Equality — economic equality — means taking from someone who has and giving to someone who doesn't. And that has nothing to do with fairness. But it has a lot to do with the oppression of success."

Well, now you're not being fair.

"Why not?"

Because you had asked me last time we met what I mean by fairness. And now you're using your own definition to assume what I mean.

"That's what it usually means."

So you're assuming the usual ...?

"You're right ... I shouldn't assume, especially with you, Jorge. Forgive me?"

I might.

"So, what do you mean?"

Fairness is an equality of opportunity, nothing else. It has nothing to do with taking what belongs to someone to give to someone else. It's the potential in every moment of economic life. It's like sports that way.

"Economics is like sports?"

A good sport provides the opportunity for excellence to each competitor at every moment they play. That's a fair game, Sam. Otherwise, it will lack integrity and won't hold our interest. The same goes for a good economy; it also provides opportunity for everyone who's in it. That's a fair economy. Without the right rules for equal opportunity throughout, dishonor will infect its politics. People with the means will just jockey for advantage instead of honing real skill. Making the rules then becomes more important than playing the game.

"When you talk about equality of opportunity in sports ... are a person's advantages in skill or height or whatever still valid, without compensating competitors?"

Of course. Personal advantages are natural. Some athletes are going to be better than others — quicker or stronger, as you say. But when the game is good, the rules themselves won't favor one player over another. And the referees don't give anyone special treatment. A game with integrity simply gives uniform opportunity to all. It doesn't equalize ability.

"So it's the same in economics, I hope. Natural advantages, like stamina or brainpower or strength, don't need compensating either, right?"

Absolutely. Our differences actually make for good drama; they create favorites and underdogs and give us something to root for. It helps make our economic system popular.

"I don't think of economics as being popular."

Well, it needs to be, Sam. Everyone is part of the economy. So if the system isn't popular, the system is in trouble.

"A lot going on with fairness in sports, isn't there?"

Well, it needs to work, to keep people interested. It's why when stones or bottles are on the field, they're removed. It's all about fairness — keeping luck to a minimum so talent and skill can dominate. That's why games are cancelled in bad weather; heavy rain or wind can erase a difference in ability, or can change the skill set needed to win.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with economics?"

Everything.

"We're going to cancel the economy if it starts to rain?"

Very cute.

"Jorge, it's your analogy."

The point is that it's the rules and conditions for a game that have to be fair.

"I realize that. It's still a bad analogy."

Why?

"For the same reason we don't cancel the economy when it rains. Sports can be postponed. But economic needs don't go away no matter the weather. In fact, some needs grow because the weather's bad."

Sam, unless there's a huge event, like a hurricane or a flood in a place that doesn't normally get them, weather doesn't make economics unfair. But a muddy field can ruin a sport.

"Still, sports is entertainment. Economics is about the nitty-gritty of life. Professional sport is more of a fantasy job that only a few of us get to do. And we only get to watch while we're not busy earning a living. So it seems to be apart from real life for most of us. I mean, when you're watching a game, and a player runs and gets near to scoring, and the fans cheer louder as he goes, if only for a second nothing else matters. It's a transporting moment. I don't think about my mortgage. I don't think about the chores Ada has waiting for me in the house. I don't get occupied with whether my Marga's done her homework or not. But when I'm doing my job, those things occur to me all the time."

Sam, sports are reality. And we've been playing them for a very long time. Ask the ancient Greeks. They're a part of us.

And economically, sports are very serious. Just think of all the human time and energy we devote to games. Beyond the athletes and judges, think of all the manufacturers who make the equipment and souvenirs, the molded glass and concrete and metal in the stadium, or the cameras, microphones, and lights and the people to work them. And the electricity ... all the people and equipment at the power company. Sam, think of the human...