Contra Private Fairness* By BART J. WILSON ABSTRACT. This article attempts to clarify our understanding of the everyday use of the word “fair” as we apply it to economic behavior. I first examine the decomposition of fair into its semantic primitives and discuss implications of recent research that indicates that the word is one-to-one untranslatable into any other language, that is, the concept of fair is distinctly Anglo. I also make a Wittgensteinian appeal to context and human sociality as an indispensable tether for what we mean by a fair experience and what we know, epistemo- logically speaking, about fairness. The principal implication of this is that rules that guide fair behavior are not located in an individual’s private utility function but instead reside in the connections that the individual has to his cultural environs. Introduction How do I know that this colour is red?—It would be an answer to say: “I have learnt English.” –Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, §381 In the beginning there was the deed. –Goethe, Faust I, Scene Six Ordinary people appear to use the word fair somewhat readily, rather frequently, and quite effortlessly in everyday conversation, and yet, our understanding and use of the term in economics can best be described as muddled. This humbling observation is nowhere more evident than in classroom discussions on the observed behavior in ultimatum games (Güth, Schmittberger, and Schwarze 1982). In a *I thank the Editor, Doug Davis, Erik Kimbrough, Praveen Kujal, and Vernon Smith for comments that have improved this paper. Anonymous referees and participants at the 2007 regional ESA meeting, annual SEA meeting, and the Gruter Conference on Law, Behavior, and Biology also provided valuable feedback. I have also benefited from many helpful conversations with Vernon Smith on rhetoric and method in experimental economics. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 71, No. 2 (April, 2012). © 2012 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.