Insiders take a society’s basic structure for granted while outsiders judge it unfair.

Evidence

When we look at such arrangements from outside, we do not consider each interaction in particular or ask whether it is fair. What we consider is the “basic structure” (Rawls 1971), and we typically judge it unfair. When we live inside a society, however, we rarely if ever focus on its basic structure. We take it for granted and evaluate social interactions within it. The individual behavior of aristocrats, slave owners, or members of high caste is judged more or less fair, rather than automatically considered unfair. … Still, there are circumstances when people look at their own institutions with a fresh eye, as did the American, the French, and the Russian revolutionaries, and then they often question their fairness. Moreover, a range of empirical works suggest that, even in the daily life of traditional societies, women do occasionally revolt against men, the poor against the wealthy, the young against the elders (e.g., Abu-Lughod 1986; Neff 1997; Turiel 2002). In other terms, hierarchies are to some extent protected from moral evaluation. When they are, however, being so evaluated, and when moral issues arise within hierarchical societies, the morality involved is grounded in considerations of fairness. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 717

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Rawls’ ‘basic structure’ concept and links to the reader’s analytical frame about how Rodrigues inside Japanese society would take its structure for granted until the fumi-e forces a fresh look. — connects to: A group’s protective shield fails when the setting redefines its members as outsiders; Media access structurally favors elites against out-groups whose problems get defined for them — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 851; Communities rationally distrust outsiders for lack of knowledge, not just prejudice (+2 more)

Related

• Insiders are best positioned to elucidate their own situation. (similarity 0.88)

Broader Connections

• A group’s protective shield fails when the setting redefines its members as outsiders #exemplifies (0.82)
• Communities rationally distrust outsiders for lack of knowledge, not just prejudice #exemplifies (0.80)
• Media access structurally favors elites against out-groups whose problems get defined for them #exemplifies (0.78) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 851