Certainly, in terms of its randomness, the procedure of the lottery is about as fair as it gets. No one family or individual is favored over another; any single individual is as likely as any other to draw from the ancient black box the fateful piece of paper with the black mark on it. So, in that respect, the drawing is fair.
But what of the more overreaching fairness? On a certain day, once a year, the whole town shows up and one of them gets chosen to be stoned to death by all the others. Does that sound fair to you? I suppose, if it's a time-honored tradition in the town and everyone agrees to take part in it, well, in that sense too, it's fair. I suppose.
Now, this is when it gets interesting.... suppose we take away the black box and the lottery and the special day, and we're just left with a group of people. One day, one of those people, for no sensible reason gets sick with some awful disease. The person has lived a normal, happy life for, let's say thirty-five years and out of nowhere gets a fatal disease, some terminal illness. He or she suffers dreadfully for a few months or years, and then, to the dismay and anguish of family and friends, the person dies.
Is that fair? Well, is it?
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