I think it's even more constrained than that. I think that the principle is more like: A government, to effectively regulate the behavior of individuals as pa

I think it's even more constrained than that. I think that the principle is more like: A government, to effectively regulate the behavior of individuals as part of a group, must not privilege any member of the group over another. Or something like that. I'm no Jefferson... the key point is that the equality that a nation cares about is the equality of all as members of that nation. All subject to equal rights, taxation, representation, punishment, etc., as we can best define it.