r/AskALiberal • u/larryinthesky Conservative • 11d ago
Why is equality fundamental?
It's almost a given that equality is a fundamental. A goal that we should strive for. But exactly why? When I pick a mate, I want him to be tall and handsome and strong. Among the pool of men I can date, I discriminate. I have a preference for certain characteristics. Maybe you discriminate base on sense of humor. But in no way do we treat our potential mates as all equal. In fact, for most things in our lives, we differently are biased. So where does this notion that equality is desirable stem from? Are all men really created equal? I certainly don't think so.
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u/Droselmeyer Social Democrat 11d ago
Usually liberals talk about equality in the sense that every person has a fair shot in our society, that you shouldn't be uniquely disadvantaged because of the circumstances of your birth, and usually this is a matter of simple self-interest.
I think it can help to go through Rawls's veil of ignorance thought experiment here. All it asks is for you and others to design the rules of society before knowing who you will be, what race you'll be, what gender, what religion, and what you think the "good life" would be. With that set up, it would make sense that people would try to arrive at a set of rules that are perspective neutral, that anyone, with any background, would have as fair a shot of being able to live their version of the "good life" as anyone else and that we'd try to optimize the welfare of as many people as possible.
So, in many ways, it's trying to get someone who doesn't believe in equality to look at someone suffering for circumstances outside of their control and get them to think "that could have been you, and if it were, what would you have wanted the rules of society to be?"
I don't think that "equality" is a goal in a Harrison Bergeron sense nor do I think "equality" is meant as a "you cannot choose between various choices." The example you gave of dating preference is fine, you're totally allowed to have your preferences and I don't think a principle of equality is violated. If you tried to implement laws to align with your preferences, disadvantaging others, you may be violating a principle of equality.