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Egalitarianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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 or the decentralization of power.

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.

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[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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]

[edit] Religious

[edit] 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.

[edit] In Islam

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Islam is cited[where?] 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[citation needed]. 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[who?] as a step forward for women.

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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 Capitalism Magazine 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]

On ther other hand, Alexander Berkman contended that: "equality does not mean an equal amount but equal opportunity... Do not make the mistake of identifying equality in liberty with the forced equality of the convict camp. True anarchist equality implies freedom, not quantity. It does not mean that every one must eat, drink, or wear the same things, do the same work, or live in the same manner. Far from it: the very reverse in fact... Individual needs and tastes differ, as appetites differ. It is equal opportunity to satisfy them that constitutes true equality... Far from levelling, such equality opens the door for the greatest possible variety of activity and development. For human character is diverse." [18]

Winston Churchill wrote, "Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth. Socialism is the equal distribution of poverty."[19]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Arneson Richard, "Egalitarianism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2002.) Web: <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism.>
  2. ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egalitarianism
  3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary (2003). "egalitarianism". http://www.thefreedictionary.com/egalitarianism. 
  4. ^ John Gowdy (1998). Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A reader on Hunter-Gatherer Economics and the Environment. St Louis: Island Press. pp. 342. ISBN 155963555X. 
  5. ^ Dahlberg, Frances. (1975). Woman the Gatherer. London: Yale university press. ISBN 0-30-02989-6. http://books.google.com/?id=eTPULzP1MZAC&pg=PA120&dq=Gathering+and+Hominid+Adaptation. 
  6. ^ Erdal, D. & Whiten, A. (1996) "Egalitarianism and Machiavellian Intelligence in Human Evolution" in Mellars, P. & Gibson, K. (eds) Modeling the Early Human Mind. Cambridge MacDonald Monograph Series
  7. ^ a b "Inequality: The Mother of All Evils?". London: The Guardian. http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/03/13/inequality.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
  8. ^ Rosales, José María. "Liberalism, Civic Reformism and Democracy." 20th World Contress on Philosophy: Political Philosophy. Web: 12 March 2010. Liberalism, Civic Reformism and Democracy
  9. ^ Stagg, Evelyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. ISBN 0-664-24195-6
  10. ^ "Islam and Egalitarian : Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you". Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq, Islamicity. http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm/writings/islamic/egalitarian.html. Retrieved 2007-01-04. 
  11. ^ Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn.Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Knopf, 2009. ISBN 978-0307267146
  12. ^ Dawes, Christopher T., James H. Fowler, Tim Johnson, Richard McElreath, Oleg Smirnov (12 April 2007). "Egalitarian Motives in Humans". Nature 446 (7137): 794–796. doi:10.1038/nature05651. PMID 17429399. 
  13. ^ Highfield, Roger (12 April 2007). "The Robin Hood impulse". London: The Daily Telegraph. p. 8. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2007/04/12/echood12.xml. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 
  14. ^ "Making the Paper: James Fowler". Nature (446,): xiii. 12 April 2007. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7137/full/7137xiiia.html. 
  15. ^ As Kids Grow Older, Egalitarianism Honed by Jon Hamilton. All Things Considered, NPR. 27 August 2008.
  16. ^ John Schar (1967) "Equality of Opportunity—and Beyond"
  17. ^ Egalitarianism: The New Torture Rack, by Gary Hull, Ayn Rand Institute, January 11, 2004
  18. ^ Alexander Berkman What is Anarchism? pp. 164-5
  19. ^ Business Quotes, www.dartmouth.org

[edit] External links

Look up egalitarian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Look up egalitarianism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

General principles

Article 1: Freedom, Egalitarianism, Dignity and Brotherhood
Article 2: Universality of rights

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 3: Right to life, liberty and security of person · Article 4: Freedom from slavery · Article 5: Freedom from torture and cruel and unusual punishment · Article 6: Right to personhood · Article 7: Equality before the law · Article 8: Right to effective remedy from the law · Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and exile · Article 10: Right to a fair trial · Article 11.1: Presumption of innocence · Article 11.2: Prohibition of retrospective law · Article 12: Right to privacy · Article 13: Freedom of movement · Article 14: Right of asylum · Article 15: Right to a nationality · Article 16: Right to marriage and family life · Article 17: Right to property · Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion · Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression · Article 20.1: Freedom of assembly · Article 20.2: Freedom of association · Article 21.1: Right to participation in government · Article 21.2: Right of equal access to public office · Article 21.3: Right to universal suffrage

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination · Article 22: Right to social security · Article 23.1: Right to work · Article 23.2: Right to equal pay for equal work · Article 23.3: Right to just remuneration · Article 23.4: Right to join a trade union · Article 24: Right to rest and leisure · Article 25.1: Right to an adequate standard of living · Article 25.2: Right to special care and assistance for mothers and children · Article 26.1: Right to education · Article 26.2: Human rights education · Article 26.3: Right to choice of education · Article 27.1: Right to participate in culture · Article 27.2: Right to intellectual property

Context, limitations and duties

Article 28: Social order · Article 29.1: Social responsibility  · Article 29.2: Limitations of human rights · Article 29.3: The supremacy of the purposes and principles of the United Nations
Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Category:Human rights · Human rights portal

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