The AskPhilosophers logo.

Justice

Suppose I bought a $80 ticket to highly anticipated concert. Two weeks later, the organizers announce they will allow any one to enter free. They do not offer me a refund. Do I have justified reason to be mad?
Accepted:
August 11, 2008

Comments

Thomas Pogge
September 6, 2008 (changed September 6, 2008) Permalink

Mad at whom? At yourself because you could have been at the concert at lower cost? But there was no way for you to know this: you cared about the opportunity and did what you needed to do to secure it. At the organizers? Maybe. But they have costs to cover, and it's nice of them to give away tickets that, presumably, they found they could not sell.

Perhaps think of this analogy: If you buy health insurance and don't get sick, should you get mad that you paid while others, who also did not get sick, paid nothing? I think you should be grateful you didn't get sick and should not regret that you protected yourself against unforeseeable medical expenses. Likewise with the concert: You should be glad that you got to be there and should not regret that you secured yourself a place rather than leave your opportunity to chance by waiting.

  • Log in to post comments
Source URL: https://askphilosophers.org/question/2263?page=0
© 2005-2025 AskPhilosophers.org