H. P. Grice's Desert

desert: What a person ought to get or what he deserves to get according to some facts about him, such as his actions, character, or state. Virtuous persons should be rewarded by happiness in proportion to their virtue, and evil persons should be punished in proportion to the degree of evil in their actions. The idea of desert is associated with fairness and justice, but conflicts with egalitarian and utilitarian principles. Legitimate claims to desert do not always entail that others must guarantee that the claimants get their desert. However, by accepting the idea of desert, one is likely to hold that desert is essential for morality. One is also likely to hold that a just political system should promote the provision of just deserts by distributing benefits and harms according to desert. On this basis, desert is an important element in determining how we should treat persons, especially where no explicit moral principles or rules give us guidance. In contemporary political philosophy, meritarianism is the view that advocates the importance of considering deserts.