Political egalitarianism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Political egalitarianism describes an inclusive and fair allocation of political power or influence, fair processes, and fair treatment of all regardless of characteristics like race, religion, wealth or intelligence.[1][2] Political egalitarianism, and its close cousin political equality, are key founding principles and sources of legitimacy for many democracies.[1] Related principles include one person, one vote and equality before the law.[3]

Discussion[edit]

Egalitarianism[edit]

Egalitarianism believes that all people are of equal fundamental worth and should have equal status.[2] Egalitarians tend to focus more on process and treating people as social equals than on the raw distribution of power.[4]

Political equality[edit]

Political equality is only achieved when the norms, rules and procedures that govern the community afford equal consideration to all.[4] Robert Dahl believes that the ideal of democracy assumes that political equality is desirable.[5] He goes on to argue that political equality and democracy are supported by the inherent intrinsic equal worth of every person (intrinsic equality) and the tendency of concentrated power to corrupt.[6]

Equality before the law[edit]

Main article: Equality before the law

Equality before law means that the law applies to all peoples equally and without exceptions. For example, the freedom of speech should apply the same to all members of a society.

Laws can sometimes be designed to help minimize unequal application.[7] Well-designed constitutions, for example, can help protect political rights in functioning democracies.[8][9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Peter, Fabienne (2007-08-01). "The Political Egalitarian's Dilemma". Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 10 (4): 373–387. doi:10.1007/s10677-006-9057-z. ISSN 1572-8447. S2CID 144836352.
  2. ^ a b Arneson, Richard (2013), "Egalitarianism", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-11-05
  3. ^ Verba, Sydney (January 2001). "Political Equality: What Is It? Why Do We Want It?". Russell Sage Foundation. p. 19.
  4. ^ a b Beramendi, P., Besley, T. and Levi, M. (2022), ‘Political equality: what is it and why does it matter?’, IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities
  5. ^ Dahl, Robert Alan (2006). On Political Equality. New Haven (Conn.): Yale University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-300-11607-6.
  6. ^ Dahl, Robert Alan (2006). On Political Equality. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-300-11607-6.
  7. ^ Lucy, William (2011). "Equality under and before the law". The University of Toronto Law Journal. 61 (3): 411–465. doi:10.3138/utlj.61.3.411. JSTOR 23018555. S2CID 144874942.
  8. ^ Jessica Bulman-Pozen & Miriam Seifter, The Democracy Principle in State Constitutions, 119Mich. L. Rev. 859 (2021).
  9. ^ Lepore, Jill (2021-03-22). "When Constitutions Took Over the World". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
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