“There is, in fact, a
manly and lawful passion for equality which excites men to wish all to
be powerful and honored. This passion tends to elevate the humble to the
rank of the great; but there exists also in the human heart a depraved
taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the
powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in
slavery to inequality with freedom.” —Alexis de Tocqueville
Today equality comes in many forms: diversity, multiculturalism, LGBT rights, political correctness, and so on. No matter the form equality is deeply rooted in Marxism, although it has broadened in use and application from the days of Marx and Engels. In theory, equality sounds good. Who doesn’t want to make things equal and seemingly fair for all? Yet, in practice equality is deeply flawed, and creates more problems than it solves. Lets look at the various ways in which equality actually creates more inequality, and problems where problems did not exist before.
Gender equality
The Left has been on an unholy crusade to abolish masculinity and femininity as they see these as social constructs. In their worldview, men and women must be equal in all respects, even if it means denying reality. Nothing exemplifies this more than what has become of women’s sports. Female trans-athletes, that is biological males, have been dominating against biological female athletes. The reasons should be obvious. Biological males have certain physical advantages that no amount of hormones or surgery will negate. So how is this fair to the other female athletes? You see to make something equal, you have to make something else unequal, which ultimately defeats the whole point.
In reality, equality doesn’t exist in nature. Some people are taller than others, some are stronger, some are smarter, and so on. Life isn’t fair, but that’s the way it is. However, we all have individual strengths and weakness that makes us unique and ultimately complimentary to one another. But since equality is not natural, it must be forced through coercion. Forced equality ultimately erodes personal freedoms and becomes antithetical to a free society.
Marriage equality
Lets consider what marriage equality has done to marriage. In order for same-sex marriage to be legitimatized it meant marriage had to be redefined. In doing so it opened Pandora’s Box for marriage to be redefined indefinitely. And if marriage can mean anything to anyone, it no longer means nothing.
Legitimizing same sex marriage also created a host of new problems that didn’t exist before. Consider the cake bakers who did not wish to contribute to same-sex marriages out of their religious convictions. Note that their contention was not that they would not bake a cake for homosexuals, only that they did not wish to contribute to their weddings. These bakers then became liable to lawsuits to force them to comply. Photographers, florists, and other business were also targeted. In another example of equality causing other inequalities, homosexuals gained a right to marry, while people of faith lost a right to disagree with it. The biggest blow has been that of religious freedoms in general.
Economic equality
Perhaps no greater damage has equality done than to that of economics. Socialists believe that wealth should be distributed equally. That no one should be wealthy, because that is unfair to the poor. In actuality, such as system creates a greater degree of inequality by eliminating the middle class and making everyone equally poor. You are left with a small elite class ruling over the impoverished majority.
The problem with socialism is it does not cooperate with human nature. If the haves are forced to share with the have-nots, it kills ambition and drive. The have-nots have no incentive to work hard since they are guaranteed a slice of the pie regardless, and the haves will not work hard since the fruits of their labor will be given away anyways. Ultimately, it breeds mediocrity, and collapses under its own weight.
On the other hand, capitalism cooperates with human nature by offering incentives. In fact, inequality is necessary for a healthy economy. If we’re all equal and can be never be anything more, what is there to work towards? Free markets guarantees equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes.
Capitalists have been accused of being greedy, but greed is a product of human nature not of capitalism. Capitalism actually harnesses those less desirable human traits like greed and laziness into products and services that benefit mankind. As Winston Churchill put it, ”Capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others that have been tried. Capitalism is no different from anything else in this world. It is imperfect because imperfect men created it. Humans are not perfect, nor are they capable of perfection. Avarice and greed are not unique to capitalism (they are products of human nature). They were present in the USSR, and they will be present in any man-made system.”
Cultural & moral relativism
Cultural relativism is another form of equality. Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another. To the cultural relativist, all cultures are created equal. To them the United States is no better than Sudan or Libya, where slavery is still practiced today.
Herein lies another flaw of equality. For all things to be made equal, there can be no difference between right and wrong, or good and evil. There can be no truth or moral absolutes, everything has to be subjective and relative. Good has to be equal with evil, and evil equal with good. What’s left is a society where ethics and morality are based upon social norms and public consensus that are forever changing.
There can be no justice with cultural & moral equality. For it would be impossible to judge someone justly because what is right for one person is wrong for another, and vice versa. With cultural relativism it would be impossible to judge someone like Hitler for the Holocaust. This also highlights the reason morality must be based on a higher power, and not on human whim that changes like the breeze.
Diversity
Diversity is an example of applied equality that seems fair on the surface, but is not. Diversity seeks to include people from different ethnic and social backgrounds. However, it does this at the expense of alienating other ethnicities, namely Caucasians and to a lesser extent Asians.
The problems with diversity are many. No longer are people chosen based upon character and merit, but something superficial as the color of their skin. It encourages polarization as different ethnic groups have to compete with one another, creating tribalism, which always invites conflict.
Multiculturalism is a subset of diversity. It too seeks cultural equality by alienating the host culture, often by being antagonistic towards it. Ultimately, diversity doesn’t create unity but the exact opposite. What’s more important than diversity is having a common culture with shared values and beliefs. Only with a melting pot does peace and prosperity prevail for all.
The only true equality
In the end, the only equality we are guaranteed is equality under the law, and equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes. There is, however, something better than equality and that is fairness. While they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are in fact two separate things. Equality, because it does not come natural, must be forced by taking away something from somebody else. The scales will be balanced, but it is hardly fair to those whose rights, freedoms, wages were given away to somebody else.
True fairness, on the other hand, affords everyone the same opportunities equally. It does not guarantee anything, only provides the means for everyone to obtain it. For example, in a fair society everyone has the opportunity to become wealthy, but not everyone will become wealthy. It is dependent on many factors, including the life choices we make. Being fair is not always fair, but it does guarantee a free and prosperous society. In the words of Milton Friedman, “A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”
