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Author
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Topic: Equality of opportunity or of condition?
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 17 April 2004 11:51 AM
One of the oldest debates in the left is between two versions of the equality goal: Equality of opportunity, or equality of condition?The Spanish socialist party has neatly squared the circle in their statement of principles: quote:
Freedom, so that each person can carry out his or her personal project of life.Equality of conditions so that all people can develop to their capacities and potentials. Solidarity, so that all people are assured their basic necessities.
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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MacD
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2511
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posted 17 April 2004 12:04 PM
"Equality of condition" seems like a meaningless concept once one accepts freedom as a fundamental principal. If people have the freedom to choose their own "personal projects", then clearly, they are choosing to pursue different conditions. How can one assess equality when people are pursuing different goals?Instead of "Equality of Condition", I would substitute some statement about universal access to the resource one requires to achieve one's personal project. Would this put me in the "Equality of Opportunity" camp? The debate over equality of condition versus opportunity seems to me to be rooted in the idea of having as much "stuff" as everyone else, i.e. in consumerism, and therefore implicitly accepts the rightist notion of property AS freedom. I would prefer goals that are stated in terms of a broader conception of freedom and autonomy. [ 17 April 2004: Message edited by: MacD ]
From: Redmonton, Alberta | Registered: Apr 2002
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nonsuch
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1402
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posted 18 April 2004 04:01 PM
I'm content with equality of opportunity, as long as it includes the opportunity to grow up healthy and confident and free to choose a life project.This would mean protecting every child from abuse, disease, hunger, neglect, fear and self-loathing. It would mean the same quality of education for every child, the same extracurricular (sports, art, music, life skills) programs and the same access to help with homework. It would mean an equal chance at higher education, whether it's funded by one's parents or not. In order to provide all of that, we'd need to reorganize society considerably. I think we'd automatically end up with a great similarity of conditions.
From: coming and going | Registered: Sep 2001
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