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Equality - what is it?

Lotus

I've always thought it would be good to have a more equal society. I don't understand why people think it's ok for some to be rich due to inherited wealth or because of the family they were born into or what school they attended or because they got 'famous'. I also don't understand why most people just seem to accept the fact that there is such a huge discrepancy between the highest paid and lowest paid workers. 

I'm a bit of a weirdo politics wise - I strongly support freedom and personal choice & independence, but I'm also a socialist in many ways as I believe a society should take care of its vulnerable members and I also like the idea of cooperatives and nationalised industries, where many benefit rather than a select few. I don't want to get into a politics debate, this is just to explain what some of my beliefs and ideas are behind my ponderings.

I know it's difficult to determine exactly what is meant by a fair and equal society. Is it fair that a doctor gets paid more than a builder? We need doctors, but we also need homes. Is it fair that someone gets paid loads because they are intelligent and got a law degree, while someone else with a lower IQ works two minimum wage jobs to just barely make ends meet? Should everyone be paid the same rate per hour?  Is it ok for some to live in tiny cramped flats while others live in huge houses and some have multiple homes?

I'm not expecting anything to change - I've accepted that the world is what it is. But just as a theoretical exercise, if human society were to be re-started how would you structure it to make things more equal? Or do you think there shouldn't be equality - that some should be rewarded more for things like having a degree or being skilled at acting or playing a sport?

  • This is a very interesting question I’m incapable of answering. The thought of “equality” is a complex one and I think not really resolvable in our society as we are far too deeply settled in our ways of rewarding. Every question opens up a million more… “Is it fair to reward a doctor more than the average worker?” leads to “Would our system still work if it wasn’t this way?” because I don’t think that enough people would take on a potential student loan, years of studying and this amount of responsibility if they would get the same reward in a 9-5 job with far less stressful tasks.

    Does equality always mean that everybody gets the same? In a perfect non-functional world: Maybe yes. 
    I might be able to grasp one or two more productive thoughts over the next few days, but for now I can just confidently declare that I (sadly) do not believe it to be possible to create an equality where everybody actually feels treated equally.

  • I wonder about these same things too, I think that with the increasing number of jobs likely to be lost to AI, we should have UBI, (universal basic income) as a way of sharing out these riches and to allow people to find time for the things that matter to them.

    I would certainly stop people havng second homes, it's a real problem round here, people being priced out and many jobs are in tourism related industries and are seasonal, low paid and insecure so people can't even begin to afford to live here.

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