Chapter 17 : Concept of Equality

Concept of Equality

The French Revolution (1789) was fought for 'liberty, equality, fraternity'. Liberty and equality describe the conditions of human emancipation and act as complementary principles, though in some contexts they may appear mutually contradictory.

Idea of Equality

The problem of equality and inequality has figured in political thought since earliest times.

• Aristotle discovered that 'inequality' was a cause of rebellion. He defined justice as 'treating equals equally and unequals unequally', which insisted on maintaining existing inequalities (master/slave, rich/poor).
• The modern idea of equality seeks the reduction of inequalities insofar as they are proved unjust according to prevailing social consciousness.

Equality as a Statement of Right, Not of Fact

The modern idea of equality is derived from the theory of rights. It is a prescriptive term, not a descriptive one (we argue men must be treated as equal, not that they are in fact equal in capacity or talent).

• Foundational equality: The compendious grounds on which the claim of equality of all human beings is established (e.g., man is a rational being, created equal by God, has similar physical/emotional needs, or shares the same blood colour despite skin differences).
• Opponents argue equality is not based on nature (which creates things unequal) and fear it diminishes achievements and robs society of assets.
• R.H. Tawney in Equality (1938) refuted this, arguing that absolute liberty results in the strong oppressing the weak. He stated: "freedom for the pike is death for the minnows." Equality qualifies liberty to prevent exploitation and widens the base of social benefits.

Equality as a Modern Idea

• Tom Bottomore in Classes in Modern Society (1965) demonstrated that ancient and medieval writers justified inequality through religious doctrines (divinely ordained).
• Only in modern times, particularly since the American and French Revolutions, has social class become an object of widespread condemnation. Scientific reasoning led thinkers to analyze how far social inequalities were man-made and alterable.

Equality as an Idea of Social Change

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755) distinguished between two types of inequality:

1. Natural/physical inequality : Differences in age, health, bodily strength, mind…