Equality

Equality remains one of the most contested concepts within political theory. While it is a cornerstone of modern political thought, its interpretation varies significantly across different ideological spectrums.

Historical Context: Classical vs. Modern Perspectives

• Classical and Medieval Philosophy: Historically, the principle of equality was largely rejected. Early philosophers held a profound belief in natural inequality. For instance, Plato argued that only individuals possessing superior rational skills were fit to join the Ruling Class. Similarly, Aristotle explicitly denied citizenship rights to women and enslaved people. Consequently, these early frameworks did not advocate for the equal treatment of individuals by the State.
• Modern Political Philosophy: Equality gained its true momentum in the modern era. The emergence of Individualism laid the initial groundwork for Foundational (or Formal) Equality. Over time, the concept has expanded across multiple dimensions, now serving as a primary dividing line between various schools of political thought.

The Basic Conception of Equality

The modern political understanding of equality is built on several foundational principles:

1. Relativity: Equality is not an absolute concept; it is inherently a relative term.
2. Acknowledgment of Differences: It does not mandate identical treatment for everyone. True equality acknowledges and accepts the presence of natural dissimilarities and inequalities.
3. Eradication of Privilege: It fundamentally requires the absence of man-made inequalities and the abolition of specially privileged classes within society.
4. Equal Opportunity: It strictly advocates for a system that provides equal opportunities for all individuals to succeed.
5. Rights and Freedom: It seeks to establish a structural framework where equal rights and freedoms are guaranteed to the entire populace.

Rousseau’s Views on the Types of Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau distinctly categorized inequality into two primary types:

Type of Inequality	Characteristics & Political Focus
Natural Inequalities	Traits: Differences in qualities such as beauty, intelligence, and physical health. Control: These are biological and cannot be inherently controlled. Goal: While unavoidable, society should strive to minimize their discriminatory effects.
Conventional Inequalities	Traits: Inequalities manufactured by society based on economic status, sex, color, caste, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. Control: These are entirely socially constructed. Goal: The concept of equality in political theory is primarily dedicated to addressing and dismantling these specific kinds of inequalities.

Important Definitions of Equality

Various prominent thinkers have defined equality to highlight its different facets—from basic needs and resource distribution to rights and freedoms:

• D. D. Raphael: “The right to equality proper is a right of equal satisfaction of basic human needs, including the need to develop and use capacities which are specifically human.”
• Harold J. Laski: “There must be sufficiency for all before there can be superfluity for a few.”
• Ernest Barker: “Equality means equal rights for all the people and abolition of all special rights and privileges.”
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “The Policy of government should be such which allow neither rich men nor beggars to increase.”
• Giovanni Sartori: “Equality has so many facets and so many implications that after we have examined it from all angles, we are left with a feeling of not having really mastered it.”
• Dick Feagler: “Equality of opportunity is freedom, but equality of outcome is repression.”
• Erich Fromm: “Men are born equal, but they are born different as well.”

Different Dimensions of Equality

Equality is generally categorized into two main frameworks: Formal Equality and Substantive Equality.

1. Formal Equality

Formal Equality, which is also referred to as ‘Foundational Equality’, was developed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, originating from the natural rights theory. The core premise is that all humans are inherently equal by virtue of their shared human essence and hold equal rights. Historical milestones for this concept include the American Declaration of Independence (1776), which declared “All men are created equal,” and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), which stated “Men are born and remain free and equal in right”. Formal Equality is further subdivided into two branches:

• Legal Equality: This principle dictates that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. It ensures that the law and judiciary do not discriminate against individuals based on wealth, color, caste, religion, or creed. Key thinkers who supported this concept include Ernest Barker, J. R. Lucas, A. V. Dicey, Ivor Jennings, John Locke, Jeremy Bentham, and John Austin.
• Political Equality: This concept grants equal political rights to all citizens. It is rooted in the doctrine that individuals are rational beings who are fully capable of political judgment, regardless of any other disparities. While common people are excluded from participation in dictatorial states, democratic states use political equality to guarantee mechanisms like universal suffrage and the right to contest elections.

2. Substantive Equality

Substantive Equality diverges from the formal perspective by actively attempting to reduce the practical inequalities that commonly persist in society, even when foundational equality is guaranteed by state law. It is divided into two primary types:

• Social Equality: This concept emerged as a direct revolt against societal discrimination based on class, caste, religion, color, and creed. It acknowledges that while natural differences exist in society, these differences should never be tied to notions of superiority or inferiority among people. Important characteristics include the absence of special privileges, free access to public places, a strict lack of discrimination (based on religion, gender, caste, and creed), and the implementation of protective discrimination.
• Economic Equality: This is considered the fundamental basis of all equality, because genuine legal, political, and social equality are impossible to achieve in a society sharply divided into rich and poor. Rousseau highlighted this by stating that the poor and the rich are simultaneously dangerous to both equality and society as a whole. The core tenet is that no individual should be deprived of social, moral, mental, or physical development due to economic hardship, meaning every person must be given equal chances to earn a livelihood. Key characteristics encompass the absence of human exploitation, the just ownership of the means of production, the provision of economic security, and the just distribution of wealth.

The Difference Between Equality and Equity

While often used interchangeably, political theory draws a sharp distinction between these two concepts:

• Equality: In a literal sense, equality advocates for identical social, political, and economic status for everyone. This approach distributes rights, liberties, and resources completely equally to all individuals, deliberately without noticing or adjusting for the existing differences among people.
• Equity: Equity centers on the recognition of differences among people. It dictates that rights, liberties, and resources should be distributed according to the specific requirements and needs of each individual. Ultimately, equity advocates for the differential (or unequal) treatment of people by the state in order to guarantee equivalent and fair results across society.

Equality of Opportunity vs. Equality of Outcomes

The debate between equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes is a central theme in political philosophy, reflecting different ideological approaches to fairness and societal structure.

Feature	Equality of Opportunity	Equality of Outcomes
Primary Supporters	All types of Liberal Thinkers	Marxist, Socialist, and Communitarian Thinkers
Core Ideology	Supports the idea of Egalitarianism	Supports a society fundamentally based on Economic Equality
Economic Approach	Strives for Economic Equity; advocates for social welfare combined with a free market	Demands Social Equality achieved through a State-Controlled Economy
General Stance	Represents a “Moderate View” of equality	Represents a more radical or absolute view of equality

Notable Perspectives on Opportunity

• John F. Kennedy: “All of us do not have equal talent but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.”
• Laurence J. Peter: “Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance of being incompetent.”

Important Thinkers and Their Contributions

Several key philosophers have significantly shaped the discourse on equality, offering distinct methodologies for achieving a just society.

R. H. Tawney

• Major Work: Equality (1931)
• Core Philosophy: Tawney actively countered the capitalist order of society.
• Proposed Solutions: He argued that true equality could only be achieved by evenly spreading wealth among social classes. Furthermore, he suggested that governments should enact laws imposing strict income limits on all individuals to prevent vast economic disparities.

Jeremy Bentham

• Political Equality: Bentham is recognized as the first thinker to introduce the formal concept of political equality, famously encapsulated as “one person, one vote.”
• Utilitarian Approach: He grounded this equality in his utilitarian theory. His principle of utility presupposes that “one man is worth just the same as another man.” Therefore, when calculating the greatest happiness for society, he guaranteed that “each person is to count for one and no one for more than one.”

Michael Walzer

• Major Work: Sphere of Justice
• Complex Equality: Walzer argued against the simplistic approach of achieving equality merely through the equal distribution of goods to everyone.
• Cultural Context: He posited that people from different cultural communities assign completely different values to the same goods. Therefore, ensuring equality while properly recognizing these cultural differences is a highly complex phenomenon.
• Social Goods: According to Walzer, social goods (such as rights, health, wealth, and education) carry different meanings across different societies. Consequently, each distinct social group must develop its own specific principles for distributing these goods.