Equality of sacrifice is a term used in political theory and political philosophy to refer to the perceived fairness of a coercive policy.
John Stuart Mill noticed that citizens often view taxation laws as being fair, as long as taxation is also applied equally to everyone else in society.[1] Political theorist Margaret Levi applied the term to the perceived fairness of conscription in democracies, to which citizens may consent as long as conscription is enforced as a universal duty - as opposed to elitist and exceptionalist policies, as it will sometimes occur in partial mobilization.[2]
The term was also adopted by Lee Iacocca[3] who, as the president of Chrysler, lowered his salary to less than a dollar a year before asking union members for radical wage cuts in order to deal with the company's financial difficulties.[4] During the financial crisis of 2007–2010, Iacocca's example has often been mentioned in opposition to "unconditional" government bail-out of failing companies. In a letter to the leaders of the big three U.S. automakers, Senator Chuck Grassley said that before receiving a government bailout executives should follow the example of former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca and cut their own pay: