  Even if we cannot endorse the flat denial that rewarding the deserving has any moral value, we might give this norm decisively subordinate status. One suggestion along this line denies the idea that there are “peaks”—a level of benefit for each person such that his becoming better off is bad from the standpoint of desert. Instead we might say that desert only establishes a comparative ranking among individuals. Being deserving or undeserving enhances or dampens the moral reason to bring it about that one gains further benefits or avoids further losses, but never to the point that gaining further benefits or avoiding further losses has negative value. So to speak, being more or less deserving puts one toward the front or rear of the line of people eligible for benefits, but does not ever make one morally ineligible for a better life. Along the same line, one might allow that desert reasons compete with equality or priority reasons, but give decisively less weight to desert reasons.