4 ms·
Ah, but this synonymy obscures the all-important difference between equality-of-opportunity and equality-of-outcome. The former is a noble goal; the latter wil
by mmirate 9y ago
Ah, but this synonymy obscures the all-important difference between equality-of-opportunity and equality-of-outcome.
The former is a noble goal; the latter will likely lead to tyranny if implemented fully - or require tyranny for full implementation. (cf. Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron)
- danharaj 9y agoThat's why I tried to identify precisely which equality I meant to avoid that issue. By the way, Harrison Bergeron was a critical satire of the position you're describing.
- mmirate 9y ago> By the way, Harrison Bergeron was a critical satire of the position you're describing. Of equality-by-outcome? Yes, that was exactly why I cited it.
- danharaj 9y agoIt was a satire of the attitude of American society towards communism during the cold war. The equality-by-outcome it presents is a strawman, precisely the strawman attributed by conservative politics to people who want to make society more equitable not just in "opportunity" but "outcome" as well. Vonnegut was a socialist and was quite warm to concepts such as "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". It's really hard to see how people miss this subtext when the main character of the story declares himself the emperor that all must obey and defies gravity. It's so cartoonishly heavy handed!
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]