In an earlier post I spoke of the pain and anguish the phrase “You deserve it” causes me and I want to add a further explanation after reading You Are Not So Smart (see entry).
The Just-World Fallacy tells us that, despite our misconception that people deserve what they get (good and bad) the reality is that people who receive good fortune may not have done anything to deserve it and even truly bad people more often than not get away with their actions without suffering any consequences.
The corollary is also true: simply stated, lazy good-for-nothing people have an equal chance to win the lottery. In another context (probably dealing with catamounts and cute little lambs) most people have to be reminded that there is no good or bad in nature … nature just is.
As humans we have really complicated our lives with this fallacy: How did such a bad person as Mussolini get the trains to run on time? Why did such a healthy running advocate as Jim Fixx collapse and die on the road? Is Cheney’s new heart as black as the old one yet? Arnold Schwarzenegger is such a wholesome man he would never stoop to schtupping the maid. The drunk in the cardboard box behind the Piggly-Wiggly is morally and physically ruined because his character is too weak to spit out the mouthwash.
The fallacy that really lights my ears on fire is the association of inevitable triumph with a belief in god. This one is so obvious I can’t imagine how it still exists: the other guy believes in god too. Doesn’t that seem like a problem?
A Celebration of Reading 