The autumn rain has stopped and the sky is really blue like a lake. Red dragonflies roam in groups against the backdrop of the deep sky. He thinks this is all thanks to COVID-19. The sky is clear everywhere, the number of planes in the sky has decreased and we no longer, since the start of COVID-19, hear much about fine dust— polluted air.
He also thinks COVID-19 is our teacher. He looks back on his life using freely the limited resources of the earth for his convenience, comfort, and entertainment. He worries that if we go back to the past relying on vaccines and treatments will we be handing over a healthy world to the next generation?
It's been a while since he last saw two old friends due to the COVID-19. This was possible because everyone was vaccinated. A friend who used to work as a manager of a large corporation is now living alone in a one-room area for the poor, with a monthly rent of 300 dollars. He also undergoes kidney dialysis at the hospital three times a week. In the past, he was unable to receive basic livelihood benefits because he had a wife and children, but the law has changed, and even if there are dependents, he receives 255 dollars a month, and then another 255 dollars is added as a disability benefit receiving a total of 510 dollars. Another friend who is retiring from a small business is washing dishes in the kitchen of a restaurant for 8 hours a day, earning, $1,557 the minimum wage guaranteed by the country.
The lawyer had many dreams when he was in school, studied hard, went to a good university, and lived well, but the years passed very quickly. His friends are now walking the downhill road of old age but thanks to the fact that they quickly grasped the meaning of life and were able to let go of all their regrets and greed they are in peace.
Last night, the three of them drank two bottles of soju and four cans of makolli until the closing time of 10 pm, a drinking party giving thanks for the 'benefits of social welfare'.
When he read the newspaper this morning, he saw an article on meritocracy and the common good. Ten years ago, Michael Sandel's book: Justice became a bestseller. The 'Illusion of Being Fair', and the arrogance of meritocracy prevents us from feeling responsible for the common good. Competency-ism thinks this is fair, but it is a big mistake to think: "I am successful because I was capable and it is natural for those who have lost in competition to have it rough."
Even if a fair test is given to students who get help from expensive tutors and students who have to work part-time for their families without tutors, the results are not just. If we go one step further, there is no such thing as 'fairness' in the first place, since the ability to study, physical condition, and artistic talent are different from birth. If the starting line is different, but only meritocracy is fairness, how are the poor people supposed to live? This is where the higher value of the 'common good' is needed.
My friend, who is good at English and graduated from a good university, ate and lived well according to his abilities when he was young, but now he is old and ill and has left his family, so he becomes incompetent and lives on the social pension provided for the common good. Another friend, thanks to the minimum wage system, can wash dishes and receive the government minimum wage.
In the past, some young people spent their lives working for the socially disadvantaged: workers and the poor. At times it was very unfair because they went to jail and even died though they were doing what was right and good. However, their dedication to the common good enabled my friends whom I met last evening to gain some peace of mind in their old age.
That's right. It's not a meritocracy based on the illusion of fairness, but living together working always for the common good.
