Is "First Come, First Serve" the right way?

I could argue for both sides.
On side #1, "First Come, First Serve" is the right way to live life.
On side #2, "First Come, First Serve" is the wrong way to live life.

(The arguments and counter-arguments line up, so you can see both sides for one point. For example, the first argument rebuttals the first counterargument; the second argument rebuttals the second counterargument, etc.)



Side #1: "First Come, First Serve" is RIGHT!
- People who put in the effort to show up prompt and first deserve the first choice(s).
- The rule rewards people who are diligent and on-time.
- There aren't unlimited spots available for everything. Those who show up first need to be accommodated first - according to common sense!
- The rule is just like standing in lines - everyone does it! Why should people who show up AFTER the first people get ahead?


Side #2: "First Come, First Serve" is WRONG!
- People who put in the effort to show up prompt don't necessarily show up first.
- The rule is very savage, barbaric, and animalistic - it's basically natural selection and explains that people who aren't as fast as others don't deserve choices.
- Compromise and Compassion are necessary for human existence. Giving the best spots only to the fastest people makes people scramble like savages!
- If you are too slow or weak, due to old age or disabilities, then this rule says you don't deserve to get ahead! However, don't we normally give priority to these types of people? That's what everyone does!


Your thoughts?

In other words, do you think "First Come, First Serve" is right or wrong?

I can't answer that without the circumstance. For a hospital emergency room it'd be deadly and wrong. For a line to get on a ride at the fair it'd be right.

It could be inevitable that this occurs when introducing something sequentially into a system; but perhaps your real question is on the extent that the order of arrival propagates through the system as some form of privilege. That depends entirely on the purpose of the system being discussed as Br. John mentions.

In the theme park ride example the order of arrival actually determines the placement in the seats which is considered fair because the only control given to the crowd to determine a position is to calculate the queue and wait a little longer before joining. This is naturally accepted because no-one likes waiting longer or usually can be bothered working out which seat they'll get for which position in the queue, so they just accept whatever they end up getting. So I guess there is variables on both sides of that 'gate' of arrival which could shape how we might determine if its fair or not.

"The right way to live"?

No. No way. It works in situations that reward the non-lazy. But, as a life philosophy, it is encouraging those who work faster than others. And, what does that say? It says almost the OPPOSITE of the Jedi Way. While we promote efficiency and not a lot of "wasted" time. Rest is important. So, like in the whole breakfast comes to those who "get up first"... then you might be depriving yourself of the rest you need for food nourishment. I dunno, maybe that doesn't make any sense now that it's written. But, bear with me and pretend you know it makes sense.

For me, as a Universalist Jedi (who gathers the paths of Jedi, Eastern studies, and Western Christianity as a basis), I don't believe in a "first come, first serve". My philosophy in this situation: "He who has wisdom is served. He who does not is still served. The difference? The first man knows how to drink."

First come first serve is the right way in most situations as pointed out above, and not in the rest.

I'm with Br. John on this...depends on the circumstance.

Now back to my ice cream cone...which I didn't have to beat someone else in a race to the store this morning in order to enjoy its luscious goodness right now.

Think about it...

I say this about nearly everything involving applied morality, but... it all depends on the situation. For me, there is no absolute "yes or no" for any policy. The circumstance may change to where the policy must be thrown out.

People have been waiting in line to go to the movies for hours, the theater opens up and some jerk cuts in line for no reason other than to get in first. The people in line are reasonably angry. This is when "First Come, First Serve" is applicable.

People at the hospital are waiting in line, with no real urgent troubles, and someone comes in practically bleeding to death all over the waiting room floor. Yeah, I'm gonna say let him go on in.

It all depends on whether the necessity is great - whether they WANT or NEED to go first. In the right situation, urgency outweighs timing.

As others have said, it's extremely dependant on the situation.

But in general, I agree with first come first served. I'm not convinced about your counter-arguments about natural selection and being fast or slow, because it's not like it's a straight race. If you know you're slow, you can leave more time. The question is, what method could you replace it with? Perhaps some kind of random selection, similar to drawing names out of a hat, but there are many situations in life where that would just be really impractical and forming a queue is much much quicker and easier.

First come first serve is a situation based phrase that I saw in action on holiday. It can depend on what people deem to be important.

Example 1.
First come first serve seemed to be a big thing for the Russians while I was on holiday. As soon as the dinning room opened for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, the Russians swarmed upon opening and started piling food onto their plates as if there was some kind of famine and they weren't going to get enough. The Brits and Germans seemed to have a more relaxed view and gradually filtered in knowing that the food was replaced and wasn't going to run out.

Example 2.
On the way home I was first in the Queue for departures but there were four families with small children, a family with a disabled child and one family with a wheelchair bound Grand parent. Those six families in my eyes and the eyes of boarding control took precedence over my early arrival, so first come first serve does not factor.

Example 3.
When I went to the Turkish mud baths, there was a queue to get lathered in mud as the pool was only small. No was was in a rush and we were all there for the same reason, so an orderly queue system was affective and first come first serve worked well.

I would say you shouldn't go into a situation expecting first come first serve, as there may be factors that alter that situation.