The Ajax Dilemma: Justice, Fairness, and Rewards

266 Pages·2011·0.96 MB·English

by  Paul Woodruff

THE AJAX DILEMMA
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THE AJAX DILEMMA

Justice, Fairness, and Rewards
Paul W oodruff
With an Aft erword by C. C ale M c D owell
1
1

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Woodruff , Paul, 1943–
Th e Ajax dilemma : justice, fairness, and rewards / Paul Woodruff .
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-19-976861-5
1. Fairness. 2. Justice. 3. Reward (Ethics)
4. Leadership. I. Title.
BJ1533.F2W66 2011
170—dc22 2010053101

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Reuben McDaniel
Without fr iends, no one would choose to live, even
if he had every other good thing: . . . . And for those who
are fr iends, there is no need for justice, but people who
have justice still need fr iends.
—Aristotle, Ethics 8.1
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
PART ONE Introductory
Ajax 3
What Is at Stake: Rewards versus Booty and Incentives 10
PART TWO The Story of Ajax 17
PART THREE Learning from the Ajax Story
A New Approach to Justice and Compassion 61
Th e Myth 66
Caring about Ajax 71
Th e Storytellers 75
Th e Contest: What Went Wrong 83
PART FOUR Justice as Human Wisdom
Bad Losers 91
Compassion 98
Fairness 110
Th e Fairness Trap 120
viii table of contents
Good Th ings and Th eir Doubles 131
Justice 140
Anger: Justice in the Soul 162
Honor and Respect 170
Wisdom 177
Leadership 185
Th e Answer: How to Survive the Dilemma 199
afterword 203
ajax and odysseus: from battlefield to boardroom,
by c. cale mcdowell
bibliography 241
index 247
PREFACE
You probably know an Ajax. He works hard, has many friends. He
is loyal to his friends and to the people he works for. He is tough
and courageous, and when you ask him to help, he is always there.
You want to have him with you in a crisis.
You probably also know an Odysseus. He is so smart he’s scary.
He can talk a blue streak and charm the pants off anyone who does
not know him. He’s always coming up with new ideas, and you
want him in the tent when you are trying to outthink the enemy.
But you don’t quite trust him. His values seem to slide around to
suit his needs. You can depend on him to look aft er himself. But
Ajax always looks aft er us .
When an Ajax competes with an Odysseus, Odysseus usually
walks off with the spoils, leaving Ajax feeling he has been suckered.
An ancient story tells one way this can happen, aft er they have
been fi ghting in the Greek army outside Troy for nine years.
Achilles is dead, the great Achilles. A god had made his armor out
of precious metal, Hephaestus, the brilliant craft sman and artist.
Th is armor is a treasure beyond price, and it is slated to go to the
most valuable soldier in the Greek army. Will it be Ajax or
Odysseus?
Ajax and Odysseus are engaged in a classic contest—loyalty
and brawn versus brains and trickery. Which one of them makes
the most valuable contribution to the army? Ajax loses, and he
cannot bring himself to accept the result. Now that he has lost, he