EQUALITY

Equality is a key concept in both ethics and politics, one that influences personal and public self-understandings, and provides guidelines for relations between individuals and for state action. Insofar as scientific knowledge and technological change can either diminish or increase inequalities, and scientific research influences the understanding of what it means to be human, issues of equality exercise important ethical influences on the uses of science and technology. The ideal of equality also presents a special challenge within science and engineering, insofar as peers are supposed to be treated as equals at the same time that expertise makes claims to special influence.

Background

It is an empirical given that human beings are in many respects unequal. They are of different shapes, sizes, and sex; different genetic endowments; and different abilities. From the earliest age, some children manifest gregariousness, others pugnacity, some pleasant dispositions, others dullness and apathy. Take almost any characteristic—health, longevity, strength, athletic prowess, sense of humor, ear for music, intelligence, social sensitivity, ability to deliberate or do abstract thinking, sense of responsibility, self-discipline, or hormonal endowment (for example, levels of testosterone and endorphins)—and there are major differences among humans. Yet it is one of the basic tenets of almost all contemporary moral and political theories that humans are in some fundamental respect equal, and that this truth should be reflected in economic, social, and political structures.

Historically this was not always the case. In Plato's Republic Socrates argues for equal opportunity for women and men among the guardians, but some of his interlocutors contest the possibility of this ideal. Aristotle rejects it outright, holding to strong differences between males and females, free men and slaves. "It is manifest that there are classes of people of whom some are freeman and others slaves by nature, for these slavery is an institution both expedient and just" (Politics
1.5.1255). Indeed, for many Greeks, Romans, and pre-modern cultures, the primary challenge was not to treat equals as equal, but to avoid treating unequals as equals.

In the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions all humans are seen as possessing equal worth because they are created in a common relation to God. In Hinduism and Buddhism people have unequal worth based on their karmic status, that is, depending on how well they have carried out their dharma (duty), but they have equal opportunity to progress to higher modes of existence and eventually to attain nirvana.

With the Enlightenment equality became a political ideal. In the words of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The first article of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) likewise stipulates: "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." As has been often noted, however, there is a tension between the ideals of liberty and equality. Inequality is not only produced by inheritance and traditional social orders; it is also produced anew by liberty, as people freely distinguish themselves from each other. Thus one is forced to inquire more precisely what kind of equality ought to be protected.

In relation to what should be "equalized" and the arguments that ground various egalitarian claims, one discovers both limited consensus and a plethora of competing ideas with regard to citizenship, law, opportunity, welfare, resources, opportunity, and capabilities. For instance, there is a measured consensus in support for equality in the areas of civil liberties, political participation, and opportunity. In the twentieth century, however, levels of social and welfare equality as a base for the exercise of individual liberty became contentious in the extreme. Moreover, together with debates between egalitarians about which version of egalitarianism is correct, there exists an even more fundamental argument between egalitarians and nonegalitarians, who question the moral significance of equality.

Conceptual Analysis

The first step in addressing such debates is to analyze more carefully the concept of equality. To begin, it is important to note that equality is sometimes interpreted as equity or fairness, but the two concepts are distinct. Whether or not and in what ways treating people as equals is equitable or fair is subject to argument.

Equality involves a triadic relationship. A is equal to B with respect to some property P. Except with abstract ideas, such as numbers, there is no such thing as equality per se. Two objects are always different in some respect—even two Ping-Pong balls are made up of different pieces of plastic and exist in different places. Two things A and B, if they are equal, are also equal with respect to something. Two trees are of equal height, two baseball players have equal batting averages, two workers have produced the same amount of widgets in the same time frame, and so forth. So descriptive equality always must answer the question, "Equal in what respect?"

When equality has a normative dimension, the relationship is quadratic: If A and B are equal with respect to the normative (or merit-ascribing) property P, then A and B deserve equal amounts of dessert D. Two persons A and B who are equal with respect to the law deserve equal treatment by the law. Two scientists or engineers who are equally competent professionals and performing equal services deserve equal compensation. Determining equality with respect to P in such cases is, of course, difficult.

Normative egalitarian theories fall into two types: formal and substantive. A formal theory states a formula or policy but includes no specific content. A substantive theory identifies a criterion or metric by which egalitarian policies are to be assessed.

Aristotle's notion that "injustice arises when equals are treated unequally and also when unequals are treated equally" (Nicomachean Ethics 5.3.23–24) is the most common statement of a formal normative theory. If two things are equal in some respect, then if one of them is treated one way based on that respect, it is wrong to treat the other differently based on that same respect. When applied to distributive justice, the formula of formal equality stipulates giving equals equal shares and unequals unequal shares based on some criterion left unspecified. Formal equality is simply the principle of consistency, and Aristotle, who articulated it, was substantively what in the early twenty-first century would be called an inegalitarian, because he defended class, racial, and sexual inequalities.

Substantive normative theories of equality either identify a criterion in the formula for equality in relation to which people should be treated equally or simply assume that all people should receive equal shares of some good(s). But because people are unequal in many respects, the first question concerns which respects are morally indefensible. One of the major controversies of the modern period has been the degree to which class, wealth, race, and sexual differences are legitimately recognized as bases for inequalities in various treatments.

A second question concerns whether the state should do anything to delimit inequality or promote equality. Socialists and liberals, for instance, tend to be interventionists, calling for government action to redistribute goods when a moral case can be made for mitigating the effects of inequality. Conservatives and libertarians tend to limit the governmental role, leaving such matters to individual or voluntary action.

Debating Substantive Equality

Returning to the first question, a few idealists, such as the radicals of the French Revolution, have called for the abolition of virtually all distinctions between persons. Graccus Babeuf's "Manifesto of the Equals" (1796) suggested even the elimination of the arts, because they reveal the difference between a Rembrandt or Michelangelo and everyone else. Sports and academic grades would have to be abolished for the same reason.

Most egalitarians nevertheless agree that not all inequalities are morally repugnant. Candidates for those sorts of inequalities that are morally wrong and thus subject to correction include primary goods, resources, economic benefits, power, prestige, class, welfare, satisfaction of desire, satisfaction of interest, need, and opportunity. Some egalitarians emphasize great differences in wealth as the most morally repugnant item and propose various redistribution policies such as the regressive income tax. Other egalitarians emphasize political power as the item to be equalized.

Certainly there is no doubt that the ideal of equality has inspired millions to protest undemocratic forms of government, monarchies, oligarchies, despotisms, and even republicanism. The sense that each individual is of equal worth has been the basis for rights claims from the English Civil War (1642–1648) to women's suffrage (granted in the United Kingdom, 1918; United States, 1920) and the civil rights movements in the United States (1960s) and South Africa (1980s). Who is not moved by the appeal of Colonel Thomas Rainsborough of Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary Army, petitioning in 1647 for political equality?

I think that the poorest he that is in England hath a life to live, as the greatest he; and therefore truly, sir, I think it's clear, that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government; and I do think that the poorest man in England is not at all bound in a strict sense to that government that he hath not had a voice to put himself under. (Putney debates, October 29, 1647)

But the ideal of equality has dangers too. The French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville, in his visit to the United States in the 1830s, was amazed at Americans' passion for and preoccupation with equality. He saw in it both the promise of the future and a great danger. Its promise lay in the prospect of full citizenship, political participation, and economic equality. Its danger lay in the tendency to mediocrity and the envy of those who stood out from the crowd.

Contemporary egalitarians most commonly divide on whether resources or welfare is the primary good to be equally distributed. Resource egalitarians, such as John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, and Eric Rakowski, hold that in societies of abundance human beings are entitled to minimally equal shares of the resources or opportunities. Welfare egalitarians, such as Kai Nielsen, R. M. Hare, and Richard Norman, go further and maintain that in such societies people should receive equal welfare, interpreted in terms of fulfillment, outcomes, or preference satisfaction.

The strongest pro-equality consensus concerns equality of opportunity, of which there are two versions. The first is weak equal opportunity (sometimes called "formal equal opportunity"), which holds that offices should be open to talent. This was classically set forth by Plato and in postrevolutionary France by Napoleon Bonaparte, who chose officers not by class but by ability ("la carriere ouverte aux talents" [the tools to him that can handle them]) It is meritocratic equal opportunity, but does not address the advantages people have because of natural or family resources, thus leaving the matter of initial starting points untouched.

The second is strong equal opportunity (sometimes called "substantive equal opportunity"), which holds that individuals ought to have equal life chances to fulfill themselves or reach the same heights. It calls for compensation for those who had less fortune early in life to bring them to the level of those who had advantages. This kind of equal opportunity would support affirmative action programs and other compensatory policies. At the extreme, such equal opportunity would have to result in groups succeeding in obtaining coveted positions in proportion to their makeup in the population. Insofar as equal opportunity would be equivalent to equal outcomes, it might be called "superstrong equal opportunity."

Justifying Equality

One important theoretical issue in the debate over equality concerns whether or not equality of whatever substance is an intrinsic or an instrumental good. Thomas Nagel (1979), for instance, after making the distinction, affirms its intrinsic value for providing an independent reason to favor economic equality as a good in its own right.

Even more strongly, Christopher Jencks, in Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America (1972), a report on U.S. education, maintains that "for ... a thoroughgoing egalitarian, inequality that derives from biology ought to be as repulsive as inequality that derives from early socialization" (p. 73). And Richard Watson (1977) argues that equality of resources is such a transcendent value, at least for many purposes, that if equal distribution of food were to result in no one getting enough to eat, this annihilation of the human race should nevertheless be chosen rather than an unequal distribution.

By contrast, it can be argued that equality is not a value in itself but only in relation to its potential effects. Utilitarians commonly argue that total happiness in a society is best maximized by means of equality. And although economists often argue that certain kinds of equality are in the interest of market efficiency, they also criticize efforts to achieve strong equality as themselves being too costly for the marginal utility they may introduce.

Science, Technology, and Equality

As science and technology have become increasingly important goods, inequalities in distribution within and between nations have become public issues. Indeed, scientific exchanges and communications technology, by making people more aware of disparities, intensify the discussion. Under appropriate circumstances, the same scientific and technological activities can also serve as means for the more effective promotion of equality. Ethical and political issues arise in relation to considerations of the extent to which this may be appropriate or feasible.

During the latter third of the twentieth century, as extensions of the civil rights and women's movements, equality within science and engineering became topics of intense debate. What was the cause of the underrepresentation of minorities and women in such sciences as physics or in engineering as a whole? To what extent was this the result of natural differences in interest or ability, or of inequality in access and opportunity?

During this same period scientific research, while not rejecting numerous well-recognized differences between individuals, tended to challenge if not minimize their importance. For instance, genetics points to minimal differences not only between races but also between the sexes, and even between human beings and some higher animals. What significance, if any, does this have for the egalitarian versus libertarian debate? On the one hand, it might well be argued that egalitarianism is so well established at the genetic level that nothing more need be done. On the other, it could also be argued that basic genetic equality is grounds for a more vigorous promotion of social equality.

Finally, increasing possibilities for the technological manipulation of human physiology open doors to radically new forms of the promotion of equality. Should science be used to alter individual genetic endowments through genetic modification? Even before such powers become generally available, it is already known that when parents have the power to choose the sex of their children, there exist strong tendencies in some cultures to choose males over females, thus creating a new kind of radical sexual equality. Moreover, the use of plastic surgery, performance-enhancing drugs, and eventually genetic engineering may be able to undermine inequalities among the gifted and the nongifted in many areas of physical appearance, athletic ability, and perhaps mental achievement. In such cases there may be dangers not only in the top-down or government-sponsored promotion of equality but even in the bottom-up initiatives of individuals practicing personal liberties. The decentralization of scientific and technological powers may alter the theory and practice of equality in unexpected ways.

Finally, ideals of equality pose challenges for relations between democratic practice and scientific or technical expertise. To what extent are scientists and engineers properly to be given special influence in decisions regarding such issues as the control of nuclear weapons, environmental pollution, or global climate change? Is technocracy an antiegalitarian danger in an economy that is dependent on scientific and engineering expertise? Such questions constitute important dimensions of any general reflection on science, technology, and ethics.

LOUIS P. POJMAN

SEE ALSO Justice.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Arneson, Richard. (1989). "Equality and Equal Opportunity for Welfare." Philosophical Studies 56(1): 77–93.

Clayton, Matthew, and Andrew Williams, eds. (2002). The Ideal of Equality. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cohen, Gerald A. (1989). "On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice." Ethics 99(4): 906–944.

Dworkin, Ronald. (2000). Sovereign Virtue: The Theory and Practice of Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Jencks, Christopher. (1972). Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America. New York: Basic.

Nagel, Thomas. (1979). "Equality." In Mortal Questions. New York: Cambridge University Press.

O'Neill, Onora. (1977). "How Do We Know When Opportunities Are Equal?" In Feminism and Philosophy, ed. Mary Vetterling-Braggin, Frederick A. Elliston, and Jane English. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield.

Pojman, Louis P., and Robert Westmoreland, eds. (1996). Equality: Selected Readings. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rae, Douglas; Douglas Yates; Jennifer Hochschild; et al. (1981). Equalities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rakowski, Eric. (1991). Equal Justice. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Roemer, John E. (1998). Equality of Opportunity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Sen, Amartya. (1992). Inequality Reexamined. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Temkin, Larry S. (1993). Inequality. New York: Oxford University Press.

Walzer, Michael. (1983). Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality. New York: Basic.

Watson, Richard. (1977). "World Hunger and Equality." In World Hunger and Moral Obligation, ed. William Aiken and Hugh LaFollette. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Westen, Peter. (1990). Speaking of Equality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.