Egalitarianism

The United States Declaration of Independence subverted the dominant social doctrine of the time, the Divine Right of Kings, by saying "All men are created equal"

Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning "equal"), is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort. Its general premise is that people should be treated as equals on certain dimensions such as religiously, politically, economically, socially, or culturally. Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all human persons are equal in fundamental worth or moral status.^[1] In large part, it is a response to the abuses of statist development and has two distinct definitions in modern English.^[2] It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights^[3] or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people.

It is considered by some to be the natural state of society.^[4][5][6]

Studies have shown that social inequality is the cause of many social problems. A comprehensive study of major world economies revealed a correlation between social inequality and problems such as homicide, infant mortality, obesity, teenage pregnancies, emotional depression and prison population.^[7] Egalitarianism is a subject of concern politically, philosophically, and religiously.

Forms

Some specifically focused egalitarian concerns include economic egalitarianism, legal egalitarianism, luck egalitarianism, political egalitarianism, gender egalitarianism, racial equality, asset-based egalitarianism, and Christian egalitarianism. Common forms of egalitarianism include political, philosophical, and religious.

Political

The framers of various modern governments made references to the Enlightenment principles of egalitarianism, "inalienable rights endowed by their Creator," in the moral principles by which they lived, and which formed the basis for their legacy.

Philosophical

At a cultural level, egalitarian theories have developed in sophistication and acceptance during the past two hundred years. Among the notable broadly egalitarian philosophies are socialism, communism, anarchism, left-libertarianism, and progressivism, all of which propound economic, political, and legal egalitarianism, respectively. Several egalitarian ideas enjoy wide support among intellectuals and in the general populations of many countries. Whether any of these ideas have been significantly implemented in practice, however, remains a controversial question.

One argument is that liberalism provides democracy with the experience of civic reformism. Without it, democracy loses any tie─argumentative or practical─to a coherent design of public policy endeavoring to provide the resources for the realization of democratic citizenship. For instance, some argue that modern representative democracy is a realization of political egalitarianism, while others believe that, in reality, most political power still resides in the hands of a ruling class, rather than in the hands of the people.^[8]

Religious

In Christianity

The Christian egalitarian view holds that the Bible teaches the fundamental equality of women and men of all racial and ethnic mixes, all economic classes, and all age groups, based on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and the overarching principles of scripture.^[9] However, within Christianity, there are dissenting views from opposing groups known as Complementarians and Patriarchalists.

In Islam

Islam is cited as being as an egalitarian religion in that it repudiates forms of nationalism that artificially aggrandize one's own people over others on no moral basis . Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq says that "Various demarcations of people based on groups, tribes, ethnicities or nationalities are quite alright, as it is natural for the humanity as a social entity. However, that is primarily to know each other in terms of our lineage, not to aggrandize oneself. Islam further reinforces this universality on the basis of not a man (Adam), but a man and a woman (Adam and Eve) and educates us that there is no virtue based on race, color, language, geographical location, wealth, or gender." ^[10]

Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have argued that Islam is not misogynistic.^[11] Muhammad's introduction of Islam in the seventh century is seen by some as a step forward for women.

Studies

A study published in 2009 took into account data sets from major world economies and correlated them with inequality indices. The study found that the absolute wealth within a country had little effect on the citizens' wellbeing or social cohesion, and that inequality correlated strongly with social problems such as homicide, infant mortality, obesity, teenage pregnancies, emotional depression and prison population. For example, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Finland and Norway scored highly in social well-being and equality indices, while countries such as the United States and United Kingdom scored low in both.^[7]

A study of American college students published in Nature showed that people are willing to pay to reduce inequality.^[12] When subjects were placed into groups and given random amounts of income, they spent their own money to reduce the incomes of the highest earners and increase the incomes of the lowest earners.^[13][14] Critics argued that no experiments have been made on working adults whereupon they might not be generous with redistribution of their income.

In a follow-up study, Swiss children showed a significant increase in sharing between the ages of 3 and 8. It has not been determined whether the results of either of these experiments are due to an innate instinct, or exposure to and adoption of the customs of other people.^[15]

Support and criticism

A society that meets the meritocratic goal of equal opportunity might still be a harsh environment for those who lack the physical, mental or social capabilities to compete. The extent to which a genuine meritocratic society is possible in the real world is debatable.^[16]

An essay by Gary Hull of the Ayn Rand Institute stated: "Egalitarianism, which claims only to want an 'equality' in end results, hates the exceptional man who, through his own mental effort, achieves that which others cannot... In an attempt to 'dumb down' all students to the lowest common denominator, today's educators no longer promote excellence and students of superior ability... Imagine the following Academy Award ceremony. There are no awards for best picture or best actor. Instead, every picture gets a certificate and every actor receives a prize. That is not an awards ceremony, you say? So it isn't. But it is an egalitarian's dream -- and an achiever's torment. Talent and ability create inequality... To rectify this supposed injustice, we are told to sacrifice the able to the unable. Egalitarianism demands the punishment and envy of anyone who is better than someone else at anything. We must tear down the competent and the strong -- raze them to the level of the incompetent and the weak... What would happen to a Thomas Edison today? If he survived school with his mind intact, he would be shackled by government regulators. His wealth would be confiscated by the IRS. He would be accused of 'unfair competition' for inventing so many more products than his competitors."^[17]

Winston Churchill wrote, "Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth. Socialism is the equal distribution of poverty."^[18]

See also

References

External links

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
  • Egalitarianism, by R. Arneson (2002).
  • Equality, by S. Gosepath (2007).
  • Equality of opportunity, by R. Arneson (2002).
• Lepowsky, Maria. 1993. Fruit of the Motherland: Gender in an Egalitarian Society. New York: Columbia University Press.
• The Equality Studies Centre
• Twin Oaks Intentional Community
• Federation of Egalitarian Communities