Nature and scope of equality.
Nature and scope of equality.
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The nature and scope of equality.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, 1776, and the Declaration of Rights of Man, 1789, which emerged from the French Revolution, both attach special importance to equality. Equality refers to the creation of all kinds of favorable environments suitable for the development of the personality of ordinary people and the equality of all kinds of opportunities provided by society and the state. In fact, human rights, freedom and equality - these three things are interrelated; the absence of one makes the others meaningless. The character or nature of equality can be discussed from several perspectives.
Absence of special privileges: -
The ideal of equality speaks of equal opportunities for all types of people in society and denies the special privileges of special individuals or groups. In this context, Lasky's opinion is particularly important. According to Lasky, equality never means equal treatment for all; equality is the equal distribution of opportunities provided by society and the state. If these opportunities provided by society and the state are concentrated in the hands of a particular individual or group, then the ideal of equality will become meaningless. Therefore, equality means the elimination of all forms of bias.
Equal distribution of opportunities and provision of adequate facilities: -
A socialist society provides equal opportunities for the enjoyment of rights by citizens. But not all citizens have the same characteristics and nature. Therefore, there is no question that everyone will make good use of the rights provided by the state and society. The rights of equality can be used for both good and bad purposes; but this is not the responsibility of the state or society. The state or society only creates an ideal environment for the maximum development of citizens.
Equality in primitive society: -
Primitive society was socialist in nature. There was no private ownership of the produced crops and natural resources. As a result, there was no class of rights holders and rights less. Women were also equal rights holders of all kinds of facilities. But over time, the emergence of private ownership destroyed the balance of equality in primitive society and created classes with rights and without rights in society.
Equality in feudal society: -
The picture of inequality in feudal society is clearly visible. In the feudal system, there were two main elements of the production process - slaves and owners. Slaves, farmers and working people were deprived of all rights and equality in society. They were exploited by the owners or feudal class. The entire production system was run in the interests of the owners. Therefore, in feudal society and the state system, the manifestation of equality was weak and all rights were enjoyed by the owners and rulers.
Equality in capitalist society: -
However, later in capitalist society, political and social equality was established in some areas. Especially in the United States, Britain, France and India, special importance was attached to establishing the principle of equality. However, the reason for this was different. When the capitalist power comes into conflict with the feudal power, the capitalist power adopts the ideals of equality in order to gain the support of the common people. However, in capitalist society, the owner class adopts the principles of equality for its own interests. Wherever there is a conflict of interests with the workers or the common people, the capitalist class does not hesitate to deny the rights of equality. Since economic equality is not established in capitalist society, equality is transformed into a farce in the eyes of the law.
Equality in Democratic Society:-
In democratic states and societies, the rights of equality have been relatively well established. In democratic societies, everyone is given equal rights regardless of race - gender - religion - social and economic status - power. Equality has been established in the eyes of the law and the rule of law. In a democratic state, everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and everyone is equally protected by the law. An example of this is the recognition of universal adult suffrage in a democratic system.
Equality in a liberal socialist society:-
Real equality can only be established in a liberal socialist state. In a socialist state, the privileges and advantages of any particular class dominating the economic sphere are not recognized. In this system, state policy is never made in the interests of the capitalists and legal equality is established in the true sense. Since economic equality is established in a socialist state, equality - freedom - fraternity can develop and everyone can fully develop their individuality.
Equality from Marxist perspective:-
Marxists believe that true equality is not possible in a society with unequal wealth and class divisions. Equality can be established by abolishing the right to private property. Therefore, Marxists talk about establishing a socialist state. In a socialist society, the rights and freedom of citizens are established by controlling all the exploitative elements at the highest level. Lenin talked about the elimination of all types of discrimination from society.
Equality according to Lasky:-
Lasky has analyzed the concept of equality in his books A Grammar of Politics and Liberty in the Modern State. According to Lasky, different individuals in society have different abilities and skills, interests, needs and capabilities. Therefore, it is undesirable for everyone to have equal opportunities. It is not the case that everyone will take advantage of the opportunities provided by the state and society. Therefore, the state system should be developed in such a way that everyone can develop their personality according to their own abilities and capabilities.
Equality according to Barker:-
Barker has discussed the concept and principles of equality in his book Principles of Social and Political Theory. According to Barker, legal equality is a system in which the state does not discriminate against its citizens while providing opportunities; the opportunities that a person receives from the state; are also taken care of so that everyone else can receive them. Barker considers legal equality to be true equality.
Finally, it can be said that in the current societies and state systems, it is never possible to establish true and real equality. In most cases, the state machinery is proactive in protecting the interests of one class of people or group and the interests of the general public are ignored. It is not possible to establish real equality in such a system. Again, although legal equality is talked about in every state, in reality, only the ruling, capitalist, powerful, etc. classes of people are seen enjoying all the rights of the state, while the interests of the general public remain neglected.
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