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The basic principle of comparative justice is that like cases are to be treated alike and different cases to be treated differently. If Doe gets a large share and Roe a small share in a distribution, our sense of justice is not satisfied until we learn of some respect in which Doe and Roe differ that underlies and justifies this difference in treatment. If Doe and Roe are exactly alike in every respect, but one is given more than the other, the discrimination in their treatment is totally arbitrary, and arbitrary discrimination is the essence of comparative injustice. Indeed, many writers hold that the principle of like treatment for like cases is more than simply one among many ethical principles vying for our allegiance, but is rather an instance of a more general principle that is constitutive of rationality itself. [Joel Feinberg, Social Philosophy, p. 99.]