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Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
,
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
,
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
, and equal access to certain
public goods In economics, a public good (also referred to as a social good or collective good)Oakland, W. H. (1987). Theory of public goods. In Handbook of public economics (Vol. 2, pp. 485-535). Elsevier. is a good that is both non-excludable and non-riva ...
and
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
. Social equality requires the absence of legally enforced
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
or
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
boundaries and the absence of
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
motivated by an inalienable part of an individual's identity. For example, advocates of social equality believe in
equality before the law Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic ru ...
for all individuals regardless of sex, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste or class, income or property, language, religion, convictions, opinions, health, or disability. Social equality is related to
equal opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...
.


Definition

Social equality is variously defined and measured by different schools of thought. These include equality of
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
, rights,
goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...
, opportunities, capabilities, or some combination of these things. It may also by defined in comparison to distributive equality, power structures between individuals, or
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
and
political egalitarianism Political equality is the quality of a society whose voluntary members are of equal standing in terms of political power or influence. A founding principle of various forms of democracy, political egalitarianism was an idea which was supported by T ...
. Societies that promote social equality generally do not make distinctions of rank or
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
, and
interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...
s under a system of social equality are generally based on the ideal of mutual
respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
and equal
value Value or values may refer to: Ethics and social * Value (ethics) wherein said concept may be construed as treating actions themselves as abstract objects, associating value to them ** Values (Western philosophy) expands the notion of value beyo ...
rather than
hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
or
honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...
. Many different ideologies draw from ideas of social equality, including
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
,
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
,
multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
,
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
,
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
,
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, and
social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
. The advocacy of social equality is
egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
. Social equality is distinct from alleviating suffering of the unfortunate in society. It is an expression of the ideal that any two individuals in society should be treated with an equal level of respect and have equal right to participate in society without regard for social status or hierarchy. Social equality often pertains to how individuals relate to one another within a society, though it can also be considered in interactions between societies. Social hierarchies may form between states or their citizens when power disparities exist between them, particularly in the context of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
. These disparities are often distinct in type as well as scope, as citizens in different states do not share a common community or social environment. As advances are made in social equality, both internationally and within a society, the scope of social equality expands as new forms of social inequality become apparent and new solutions become possible.


Polysemic and protean concept

At first, according to the distinction made by
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, equality consists of the distinction just between parts relative to a criterion (proportional equality) or pure mathematical equality. But the multiplicity of objects (individuals and situations) where this applies makes the concept of "social equality" as diversified and multiform as the objects concerned. Despite the impossibility of a simple theoretical definition, the concept has more-and-more found its pertinence in a pragmatic evaluation to be conducted along different axes: * Geographic: Is social equality conceivable without reference to a territory, to a human society, to the existence of links of solidarity or of responsibility? * Temporal: Is social equality appreciated in the instant or must it project itself into the future? Does the concept of intergenerational equality make sense (returning to principles of
sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
)? * Legal: Does not social equality, founded by the necessary and formal principles of
rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
, lead it to rapidly prolonging and going beyond them in aid of the examination of the guarantee and the exercise of
real right Ius in re, or jus in re, under civil law, more commonly referred to as a real right or right ''in rem'', is a right in property, known as an interest under common law. A real right vests in a person with respect to property, inherent in his relatio ...
s? * Political: Social equality in democracy supposes that the
right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
, the
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
, but also the effective possibility of disposing of information and the free exercise of these rights. What about access to education, to treatment, to culture? Societies closed to this point of view are inegalitarian societies. * Economic: Is equality of resources, strict
egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
, necessary to guarantee
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
? Is there a minimum to take into account below which the
dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...
, merit, and
potential Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple re ...
of people is not recognized? Even though for many this equality is seen as an impossible ideal, at the default of equality of conditions, must one content oneself with
equal opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...
? * Anthropological:
Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...
, in his experience with shells, arrives at the conclusion that the normative principle to aim at is "equal consideration of each person".


Historical examples

Illustrating the combat fought in favor of this application on many fronts are the following episodes: * The
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
of 1789 in view of the abolition of privileges * The
Bandung Conference The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference ( id, Konferensi Asia–Afrika)—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–2 ...
and other anticolonialist movements reclaiming a better sharing of the world than that realized between great powers at the
Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
* The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
which – by its specialized institutions – seeks to promote more stable and concrete dialogue and cooperation between its members * In France, trade union movements (as in 1936) or charitable movements, such as in France that of
Abbé Pierre Abbé Pierre, OFM Cap, (born Henri Marie Joseph Grouès; 5 August 191222 January 2007) was a French Catholic priest, member of the Resistance during World War II, and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement (MRP). In 1949, he founded the Em ...
, of
International Movement ATD Fourth World The International Movement ATD Fourth World is a nonprofit organization which aims towards the eradication of chronic poverty through a human-rights based approach. It works in partnership with communities across the world to end the exclusion an ...
* The appeal to the establishment of
equal opportunities Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...
appeals to the idea that people must be in the same conditions to try in life (with concrete initiatives, such as that of
Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance ...
in favor of
microcredit :''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...
)


Philosophical history

Early conceptions of social equality appear in
Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empire ...
. The
Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy *STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain *' ...
philosophers believed that human
reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
is universal.
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
considered natures of equality when building a society in the ''Republic'', including both a
monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
equality and equality in depravity.
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
also developed a conception of equality, particularly in regard to
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
, though he rejected the concept of total social equality in favor of social hierarchy. Social equality developed as a practicable element of society in Europe during the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in which traditional religious hierarchies were challenged. The development of post-Reformation
political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
provided a
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
foundation for social equality and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
created empirical systems to analyze social equality in practice. The contemporary notion of social equality was developed in the 20th century by political philosophers such as
John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...
,
Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...
, and
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
. Rawls defined equality through
primary goods Primary goods are presented in the book ''A Theory of Justice'' (1971) written by the American philosopher John Rawls. In the first edition of the ''Theory of Justice'', these goods are supposed to be desirable for every human being, just as they ar ...
like liberty, opportunity, respect, and wealth. Dworkin incorporated a concept of responsibility to Rawls' approach, saying that individuals are personally responsible for voluntary decisions but not natural talents or pre-dispositions. Sen rejected Rawls' measurement of resources in favor of capability to function.
Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino University Professorship at Harvard University,
is known for his rejection of Rawls' conception of social equality, arguing that the individual who produced a resource is entitled to it, even if this produces unequal results.


Types

Social equality is a major element of equality for any group in society.
Gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
includes social equality between
men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...
,
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
, and
intersex people Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". In ...
. It seeks to rectify detriment to social status caused by
biological sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, o ...
as well as inequalities caused by
gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
. Internationally, women are harmed significantly more by a lack of gender equality, resulting in a higher risk of
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
.
Racial equality Racial equality is a situation in which people of all races and ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and political rights. In present-day Western society, ...
and ethnic equality include social equality between people of different races and ethnic origins. Social equality can also be applied to belief and ideology, including equal social status for people of all political or religious beliefs. The rights of people with
disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
pertains to social equality. Both physical and mental disabilities can prevent individuals from participating in society at an equal level, due to environmental factors as well as stigmas associated with disability. Social equality includes both the treatment of disabilities and accommodation of people with disabilities to facilitate equal participation in society.


Means

Economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
and
industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
are correlated with increased social equality. The industrialization process in which a
developing country A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
becomes a
developed country A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
corresponds to a significant increase in social equality, and further economic development and growth in developed countries corresponds with further increases in social equality.
Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
and social equality are also correlated, and increased access to education promotes social equality among individuals.


Standards


Ontological

The standard of equality that states everyone is created equal at birth is called ''
ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
equality''. This type of equality can be seen in many different places like the
United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
. This early document, which states many of the values of the United States of America, has this idea of equality embedded in it. It says "
all men are created equal The quotation "all men are created equal" is part of the sentence in the U.S. Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronounc ...
, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights". The statement reflects the philosophy of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
and his idea that all are equal in terms of certain
natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental'' and ...
. Although this standard of equality is seen in documents as important as the Declaration of Independence, it is "one not often invoked in policy debates these days". However this notion of equality is often used to justify inequalities such as material inequality.
Dalton Conley Dalton Clark Conley (born 1969) is an American sociologist. Conley is a professor at Princeton University and has written eight books, including a memoir and a sociology textbook. Education Conley attended Stuyvesant High School. He subsequent ...
claims that ontological equality is used to justify material inequality by putting a spotlight on the fact, legitimated by theology, that "the distribution of power and resources here on earth does not matter because all of us are equally children of God and will have to face our maker upon dying". Dalton Conley, the author of ''You May Ask Yourself'', claims that ontological equality can also be used to put forth the notion that poverty is a virtue.
Luciano Floridi Luciano Floridi (; born 16 November 1964) is an Italian people, Italian and British people, British philosopher. He holds a double appointment as professor of philosophy and ethics of information at the University of Oxford, Oxford Internet In ...
, author of a book about information, wrote about what he calls the ontological equality principle. His work on information ethics raises the importance of equality when presenting the information.


Opportunity

Another standard of equality is equality of opportunity, "the idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth, social prestige, and power because the rules of the game, so to speak, are the same for everyone". This concept can be applied to society by saying that no one has a head start. This means that, for any social equality issue dealing with wealth, social prestige, power, or any of that sort, the equality of opportunity standard can defend the idea that everyone had the same start. This views society almost as a game and any of the differences in equality standards are due to luck and playing the "game" to one's best ability. Conley gives an example of this standard of equality by using a game of ''Monopoly'' to describe society. He claims that "''Monopoly'' follows the rules of equality of opportunity" by explaining that everyone had an equal chance when starting the game and any differences were a result of the luck of the dice roll and the skill of the player to make choices to benefit their wealth. Comparing this example to society, the standard of equality of opportunity eliminates inequality because the rules of the games in society are still fair and the same for all, therefore making any existing inequalities in society fair. Lesley A. Jacobs, the author of ''Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice'', talks about equality of opportunity and its importance relating to egalitarian
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. Jacobs states that: at the core of equality of opportunity... is the concept that in competitive procedures designed for the allocation of scarce resources and the distribution of the benefits and burdens of social life, those procedures should be governed by criteria that are relevant to the particular goods at stake in the competition and not by irrelevant considerations such as race, religion, class, gender, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or other factors that may hinder some of the competitors’ opportunities at success. (Jacobs, 10). This concept points out factors like
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
,
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
, class, etc. that should not be considered when talking about equality through this notion. Conley also mentions that this standard of equality is at the heart of a
bourgeois society The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, such as a modern capitalist society, or "a society of commerce in which the maximization of profit is the primary business incentive". It was the equal opportunity ideology that civil rights activists adopted in the era of the
civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
in the 1960s. This ideology was used by them to argue that
Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
were incompatible with the standard of equality of opportunity.


Condition

Another notion of equality introduced by Conley is equality of condition. Through this framework is the idea that everyone should have an equal starting point. Conley goes back to his example of a game of ''Monopoly'' to explain this standard. If the game of four started off with two players both having an advantage of $5,000 to start off with and both already owning hotels and other property while the other two players both did not own any property and both started off with a $5,000 deficit, then from a perspective of the standard of equality of condition, one can argue that the rules of the game "need to be altered in order to compensate for inequalities in the relative starting positions". From this we form policies in order to even equality which in result bring an efficient way to create fairer competition in society. Here is where
social engineering Social engineering may refer to: * Social engineering (political science), a means of influencing particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale * Social engineering (security), obtaining confidential information by manipulating and/or ...
comes into play where we change society in order to give an equality of condition to everyone based on race, gender, class, religion, etc. when it is made justifiable that the proponents of the society make it unfair for them. Sharon E. Kahn, the author of ''Academic Freedom and the Inclusive University'', talks about equality of condition in their work as well and how it correlates to
freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
of individuals. They claim that in order to have individual freedom there needs to be equality of condition "which requires much more than the elimination of legal barriers: it requires the creation of a
level playing field In commerce, a level playing field is a concept about fairness, not that each player has an equal chance to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules. In a game played on a playing field, such as rugby, one team would have an unfai ...
that eliminates structural barriers to opportunity". Her work talks about the academic structure and its problem with equalities and claims that to "ensure equity... we need to recognize that the university structure and its organizational culture have traditionally privileged some and marginalized other; we need to go beyond theoretical concepts of equality by eliminating systemic barriers that hinder the equal participation of members of all groups; we need to create and equality of condition, not merely an equality of opportunity". "Notions of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness begin with a set of premises about
individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
, freedom and rights that take as given the existence of deeply rooted inequalities in social structure," therefore in order to have a culture of the inclusive university, it would have to "be based on values of equity; that is, equality of condition" eliminating all systemic barriers that go against equality.


Outcome

The fourth standard of equality is equality of outcome, which is "a position that argues each player must end up with the same amount regardless of the fairness". In this standard of equality, the idea is that "everyone contributes to society and to the economy according to what they do best". Under this notion of equality, Conley states that "nobody will earn more power, prestige, and wealth by working harder". Equality of outcome is often falsely conflated with
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
or
Marxist philosophy Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew fro ...
despite the fact that these ideologies clearly promote the distribution of resources on the basis of
need A need is dissatisfaction at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a ...
or contribution (depending on the level of development of a society's
productive forces Productive forces, productive powers, or forces of production (German: ''Produktivkräfte'') is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism. In Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' own critique of political economy, it refers to the combinat ...
) rather than equality.
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
stated that the "abolition of classes means placing ''all'' citizens on an ''equal'' footing with regard to the ''means of production'' belonging to society as a whole. It means giving all citizens ''equal'' opportunities of working on the publicly-owned means of production, on the publicly-owned land, at the publicly-owned factories, and so forth". When defining equality of outcome in education, "the goals should not be the liberal one of equality of access but equality of outcome for the median number of each identifiable non-educationally defined group, i.e. the average women, negro, or
proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philoso ...
or rural dweller should have the same level of educational attainment as the average male, white, suburbanite". The outcome and the benefits from equality from education from this notion of equality promotes that all should have the same outcomes and benefits regardless of race, gender, religion etc. The equality of outcome in Hewitt's point of view is supposed to result in "a comparable range of achievements between a specific
disadvantaged The "disadvantaged" is a generic term for individuals or groups of people who: * Face special problems such as physical or mental disability * Lack money or economic supportKingdom of Nepal: Economic and Social Inclusion of the Disadvantaged Poo ...
group – such as an ethnic minority, women, lone parents and the disabled – and society as a whole". Information ethics is impartial and universal because it brings to ultimate completion the process of enlargement of the concept of what may count as a center of a (no matter how minimal) moral claim, which now includes every instance of being understood informationally, no matter whether physically implemented or not. In this respect, information ethics holds that every entity as an expression of being, has a dignity constituted by its mode of existence and essence (the collection of all the elementary properties that constitute it for what it is), which deserve to be respected (at least in a minimal and overridable sense), and hence place moral claims on the interacting agent and ought to contribute to the constraint and guidance of his ethical decisions and behavior. Floridi goes on to claim that this "ontological equality principle means that any form of reality (any instance of information/being), simply for the fact of being what it is, enjoys a minimal, initial, overridable, equal right to exist and develop in a way which is appropriate to its nature." Values in his claims correlate to those shown in the sociological textbook ''You May Ask Yourself'' by Dalton Conley. The notion of "ontological equality" describes equality by saying everything is equal by nature. Everyone is created equal at birth. Everything has an equal right to exist and develop by its nature.


References


Further reading

* Arnold, Mathew (18759). "Equality." In: ''Mixed Essays''. New York: Macmillan & Co., pp. 48–97. * * Bryce, James (1898). "Equality," ''The Century; A Popular Quarterly,'' Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 459–469. * Dreikurs, Rudolf (1983). ''Social Equality; The Challenge of Today.'' Chicago, IL: Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago. * Gil, David G. (1976). ''The Challenge of Social Equality.'' Cambridge: Schenkman Pub. Co. * Hyneman, Charles S. (1980). "Equality: Elusive Ideal or Beguiling Delusion?," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXIV, No. 3, pp. 226–237. * Jackman, Robert W. (1975). ''Politics and Social Equality.'' New York: Wiley. * Lane, Robert E. (1959). "The Fear of Equality," ''The American Political Science Review,'' Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 35–51. * Lucas, J.R. (1965). "Against Equality," ''Philosophy'', Vol. 40, pp. 296–307. * Lucas, J.R. (1977). "Against Equality Again," ''Philosophy'', Vol. 52, pp. 255–280. * Mallock, William H. (1882). ''Social Equality: A Short Study in a Missing Science.'' London: Richard Bentley and Son. * Merwin, Henry Childs (1897). "The American Notion of Equality," ''The Atlantic Monthly,'' Vol. 80, pp. 354–363. * Nagel, Thomas (1978). "The Justification of Equality," ''Crítica: Revista Hispanoamericana de Filosofía,'' Vol. 10, No. 28, pp. 3–31. * * * Rothbard, Murray N. (1995). "Egalitarianism and the Elites," ''The Review of Austrian Economics'', Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 39–57. * Rougier, Louis (1974). "Philosophical Origins of the Idea of Natural Equality," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 1, pp. 29–38. * Stephen, James Fitzjames (1873). "Equality." In: ''Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.'' New York: Holt & Williams, pp. 189–255. * Stephen, Leslie (1891). "Social Equality," ''International Journal of Ethics,'' Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 261–288. * Tonsor, Stephen J. (1979). "Liberty and Equality as Absolutes," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXIII, No. 1, pp. 2–9. * Tonsor, Stephen J. (1980). "Equality and Ancient Society," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXIV, No. 2, pp. 134–141. * Tonsor, Stephen J. (1980). "Equality in the New Testament," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXIV, No. 4, pp. 345–354. * Tonsor, Stephen J. (1980). "The New Natural Law and the Problem of Equality," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXIV, No. 3, pp. 238–247. * Tonsor, Stephen J. (1981). "Equality: The Greek Historical Experience," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XXV, No. 1, pp. 46–55. * Velasco, Gustavo R. (1974). "On Equality and Egalitarianism," ''The Modern Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 1, pp. 21–28.


External links

* {{Authority control Social systems Distribution of wealth Egalitarianism Social inequality