Axiom of equity
The axiom of equity is a simple rule about fairness and treating others as you would want to be treated. It comes from English philosopher Samuel Clarke, who linked it to the idea of reciprocity: whatever I think is reasonable for others to do to me, I should do for them in the same situation. Clarke expressed this in his writings on natural religion and Christian revelation as: “Whatever I judge reasonable or unreasonable for another to do to me; that, by the same judgment, I declare reasonable or unreasonable, that I in the like case should do for him.” Hastings Rashdall later summarized the idea by saying: “One man's good is of as much intrinsic worth as the like good of another.” In short, the axiom of equity asks us to value other people's well-being as much as our own when deciding what is fair.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:31 (CET).