In what way is "deserve" a matter of fact?
"Deserving" is a moral theorem, not a moral axiom. You can most definitely test and check whether someone deserves something, by asking about the rules of the game and their position within the game.
If there is no game at hand, I would say "deserving" becomes nonsense, but that's just me.
Another month has passed and here is a new rationality quotes thread. The usual rules are:
And one new rule: