Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals from birth. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Generally it applies to being held equal under the law and society at large. In actual practice, one may be considered an egalitarian in most areas listed above, even if not subscribing to equality in every possible area of individual difference. For example, one might support equal rights in race matters but not in gender issues, or vice versa.

Contents 1 Applications of egalitarianism 1.1 Moral and legal egalitarianism 1.2 Broadly egalitarian philosophies 1.3 Communism, Marxism 1.4 Egalitarianism in hunter-gatherer groups 2 Opposing views 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

Applications of egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is a philosophy of considerable variety or diversity in the many ways it has been applied in society. Common forms of egalitarianism include economic egalitarianism (also known as material egalitarianism), moral egalitarianism, legal egalitarianism, luck egalitarianism, political egalitarianism, gender egalitarianism, racial equality, opportunity egalitarianism, and Christian egalitarianism. Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws with no individual Luck egalitarianism is a view about Distributive justice espoused by a variety of Egalitarian and Left-wing Political philosophers According Political egalitarianism is a term used to define a state of affairs in which the members of a society are of equal standing in terms of political power or influence Gender equality (also known as gender equity, gender egalitarianism, or sexual equality) is the goal of the Equality of the Genders Desegregation is the process of ending Racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. Asset-based egalitarianism is a form of Egalitarianism which theorises that equality is possible by a redistribution of resources usually in the form of a Capital Christian Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal or level) also known as biblical equality is a

Moral and legal egalitarianism

The United States Declaration of Independence includes a kind of moral and legal egalitarianism. The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4 1776 announcing that the thirteen American colonies then Because "all men are created equal," each person is to be treated equally under the law. The quotation "All men are created equal" is arguably the best-known phrase in any of America 's political documents as the idea it expresses is generally considered Similar to many other developed nations of the time, it was not until much later that the U. S. society extended these benefits to slaves, women and other groups. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Over time, universal egalitarianism has won wide adherence and is a core component of modern civil rights policies.

Broadly egalitarian philosophies

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, and Human Rights, which promote economic, political, and legal egalitarianism, respectively. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power Political egalitarianism is a term used to define a state of affairs in which the members of a society are of equal standing in terms of political power or influence Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws with no individual Several egalitarian ideas enjoy wide support among intellectuals and in the general populations of many countries. Intellectualism is any of a number of views regarding the use or development of the Intellect or the practice of being an Intellectual. Whether any of these ideas have been significantly implemented in practice, however, remains a controversial question. 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. Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives The term ruling class refers to the Social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy

Communism, Marxism

Different kinds of egalitarianism can sometimes conflict, while in other situations they may be indispensable to each other. For instance, communism is an egalitarian doctrine, according to which everyone is supposed to enjoy material equality. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the However, because material inequality has always existed to some extent in domestic and international economy, something must be done to remove it. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area Since those who enjoy the greatest material wealth are not likely to wish to part with it, some form of coercive mechanism must exist in the transition period before communism. Most Marxists now agree that communism can only be achieved if the coercive powers of redistribution needed during the transitional period are vested in a democratic body whose powers are limited by various checks and balances, in order to prevent abuse. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance In other words, they argue that political egalitarianism is indispensable to material egalitarianism. Meanwhile, other defenders of material egalitarianism have rejected Marxist communism in favor of such views as libertarian socialism or anarchism, which do not necessarily advocate the transitional use of the state as a means of redistribution. Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that aim to create a society without political economic or social hierarchies – a society in which all violent Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i This is in contrast to unplanned economies such as Free Market capitalism, that use the market place to distribute wealth rather than any centralized or decentralized bodies of power. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the Magnum opus of the Scottish economist Adam Smith.

Egalitarianism in hunter-gatherer groups

There have been many instances of egalitarianism found in modern hunter-gatherer groups, in several parts of the world. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Even when it is within an individuals favour, or has no obvious benefit, many returning hunters will share meat with the rest of the group. The more pronounced egalitarianism can be found in leadership. Many of these groups do not have a defined leader, only for contact with modern societies (they may have mastered another language for example). This is reflected in group discussions, where individuals with mastery in one subject such as hunting will be respected, but never obeyed (if the whole group decide to go another way). If one individual does attempt to take control, then they may be ridiculed, punished or ignored. ^[1]

Opposing views

Typical anti-egalitarian views hold that egalitarianism is based primarily upon politically-correct foundations, and that egalitarian philosophies have some kind of negative impact, either on specific groups of individuals or on society as a whole. Anti-egalitarians theorize^[2] that genetic differences within the population justify the view that some people are naturally superior to others in some important way, and therefore egalitarianism is fallacious.

Various anti-egalitarian views have been brought forward, among others in the discussion on the distribution of income. For example, John Rawls argued that those who have least, should benefit most from changes in policy. John Rawls ( February 21, 1921  &ndash November 24, 2002) was an American Philosopher, a Professor of

See also

This entry is related to, but not included in the Political ideologies series or one of its sub-series. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics Other related articles can be found at the Politics Portal.

• "All men are created equal"
• Asset-based egalitarianism
• Deep ecology
• Discrimination
• Equality of outcome
• Equal opportunity
• Gender equality
• Inequity aversion
• Jock Tamson's Bairns
• Liberalism
• Liberté, égalité, fraternité
• Social equality
• Socialism
• Tall Poppy Syndrome a pejorative term used in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand
• Harrison Bergeron

Notes

References

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Egalitarianism
• Lepowsky, Maria. 1993. Fruit of the Motherland: Gender in an Egalitarian Society. New York: Columbia University Press.

External links

• The Equality Studies Centre
• Twin Oaks Intentional Community
• Federation of Egalitarian Communities

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