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No, the justification for "less equality" is that it is an optimal solution. Everyone is much better off than if everything was "equal." Equality is not an en
by hnal943 16y ago
No, the justification for "less equality" is that it is an optimal solution. Everyone is much better off than if everything was "equal." Equality is not an end in itself. If nuclear war were to break out, we would all be equal (and dead). That doesn't make it better than what we have now.
- borism 16y agoyou totally miss the point of why having egalitarian society is important and one of the building blocks of America. maybe you heard about "American Dream" and stuff...
- hnal943 16y agoWhat founding American documents can you point to that espouse an egalitarian belief? I would submit that freedom (America's true consistent ideal) and "equality" are mutually exclusive ends.
- borism 16y agoThe idea of the American Dream is rooted in the second sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence which states that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream
- CWuestefeld 16y agoIt seems to me that you're trying to interpret that into a Harrison Bergeron society [1]. The way I read this passage of the Declaration is twofold: A. In the eyes of the law (that is, the only way that the government can view us), all men enjoy the same rights, privileges, and protections. B. We are clearly diverse; it is obvious that no two of us are exactly alike, or in any way interchangeable. However, it's not possible to assign a value to those differences. The way each of us fit into the grand scheme of society is far too complex to tease apart. [1] About: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Harrison_Berg... ; Text: http://www.nationalreview.com/nroriginals/?q=MDllNmVmNGU1NDVjY2IzODBlMjYzNDljZTMzNzFlZjc= http://www.nationalreview.com/nroriginals/?q=MDllNmVmNGU1NDV...
- borism 16y agoIt seems to me that you and previous commenter accept only binary outcomes: 0) either there is 100% inequality (which is where America seems to be headed now) 1) or there is 100% equality (that previous commenter likens to nuclear war) That seems to me to stem from polarisation of those issues by American media: you're either rich hard working patriotic american or muslim terrorist commie. No wonder you get the same partisan politics in Parliament and Obamas and Palins as leaders. Well, in my world aka ROW there are larger inequalities and there are smaller inequalities and when the pendulum swings too much in one direction it's time for society to rethink something, not engage in witch hunt. Anyway, this whole topic is too tiresome by now. After all it's called American Dream, not European or Asian Dream. Go figure it out for yourselves!
- JeffL 16y agoThe right to the pursuit of happiness is not the same as the right to happiness.