Equality and Justice (Part 1)
It's a truism that equality is justice (or justice is equality). But what is equality? Read part 1 of 6.
I developed this series in 2012 when I was in my 20’s trying to clarify my own thoughts on the weighty topic. It was originally published on a blog which is now discontinued.
It's a truism that equality is justice (or justice is equality).
But what IS equality?
Is it equality when everyone is earning the same amount, or it is equality when everyone is earning according their potential?
Let’s take this example:
Worker A is physically strong and can do X amount of work in a day, whereas worker B is physically weak and can do Y amount of work in a day. X is greater than Y. Is it then fair that worker A's daily earning is more than worker B's daily earning? Most people would say yes.
But then A and B will have different, unequal standard of living.
Assume further that the difference in their physical and mental strength is vast, and their earning being proportional to their natural potential (i.e. physical and mental endowment), A is rich and B is poor. It is a state which we view as inequality.
However, most people would agree that it is fair that A should earn more than B.
Most people would agree that if we redistribute A's earning to B to make the income of both equal (to bring about equality) that would be injustice to A, because A's higher earning is deserved by him since he has higher potential.
The logic used in drawing the conclusion above is this: it is fair when someone who is naturally endowed with more—physical and mental—potential enjoys higher benefits/wellbeing than those he is superior to.
I would call it the state of natural inequality. It is also a state of justice.
The state of nature is the baseline for equality and justice. The state of nature is by default a just state where every creature gets according to its potential.
Battle is the reality of nature. Whoever is physically and mentally more powerful would prevail over others. Going by the same logic we used above, that seems perfectly fair.
But we don't live in the state of nature. And physical strength and mental strength don't always go hand in hand. And that's where defining justice in human society becomes more complex.
To be continued…