All people were created equal. But nowhere is it written that they would remain that way. Nor should we expect them to.
People come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with different aptitudes, interests, values and family histories. They are satisfied with different things, pursue different goals and choose different means of getting at them.
Are we sure that on occasion, when we speak of equality, we’re not inadvertently speaking of wiping all of those things away? Of removing other people’s freedom to make choices that we personally deem unwise?
If we really do think that it’s okay to take “poor choices” off the table for sane adults, by what power do we decide that we get to make those decisions for them?
Principles aside for a moment, what if we’re wrong? If not now, what about in 5, 10, or 30 years? No one alive today could possibly deny just how fast our world can change under the force of human ingenuity. (Or how slow large institutions can be to adapt.)
The gut reaction to this kind of inquiry is often to push back, to shut it out and shut it down. We want to believe that since our intent is good, our means must be just as well.
Still, when pushed on the underlying principles, most of us will agree that we shouldn’t be in the business of telling others what they can and can’t do — So long as they’re not directly harming or taking away the inalienable rights of others.
We might all agree to limiting a person’s ability to kill, steal or pollute, since these are actions that affect the choices and freedoms of other people. But how many of us can agree on what kind of rent is reasonable to pay, how often we should go to the doctor, what kind of investment or sales strategy is wise to take, or what kind of food or music is best?
People will continue to be born equal in terms of knowledge, accomplishment and virtue. None of these comes from the womb. Our circumstances of course, will soon separate. As they do so, the question becomes: In what ways shall we remain equal?
In a just society, if we are to remain equal in the ways that matter most, we must be afforded equal treatment under the law. We must be given equal freedom to make our own choices, to work to our own ends and through our own means.
We must be given equal opportunity to succeed or fail in accordance with our own ability and our own choices. And we must be given equal opportunity to adjust or maintain our choices as we see fit, regardless of our personal outcomes, and regardless of whether others think that we’re doing a smart thing.
If, in seeing the pain, frustration, and inequality of outcome that often comes along with freedom of choice, you are moved and would like to choose to make sacrifices in order to help your fellow man, then please do so. Act. It is within your power. And it is an exceedingly noble choice to make.
But, if you care about the kind of equality that respects people and their differences, then you must respect your fellow man’s right to refuse your help. He should, and must, be allowed the same opportunity to make his own personal decisions for himself. Regardless of whether or not we think they’re the right ones.
A wiser man than I am once said: “The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.”