Tuesday, April 7, 2015

What is Equality?

"Equality" is a much used and abused word. Law treats everybody "Equally". Teacher's must treat all students "equally". There should be "equality" in society. Allocation of resources should be "equitable". And so on goes the tune.

One never stops and thinks what "equality" really means but subconsciously we equate "equality" with money by making "equality" equal to economic status. Which means that subconsciously we want all of us to have the same economic status.

This is reflected in our daily lives by us trying to get more and more to be equal in status with another person of a higher economic status. And this behaviour is shown by all of us. If my neighbour or a cousin brother has a more expensive car, then I would also strive to have that car or even better, to give him competition, an even more expensive car than his. Ditto, repeated for the house, clothes, shoes, furniture, bathroom taps and tiles, underwear and more. It does not stop at physical possession of material objects but also pans out to looking more physically beautiful in the more endowed of the sexes and having a more beautiful/handsome partner.

In all this self created grind of daily life did we ever stand back and reflect what does "equality" really mean?

"Equality" is not about economic status and can never be.

Because economic status is built by a mirage called "money", which is created by governments to first exercise control over a given territory, then to exact tax from citizens to enliven the monarchist/communist/democratist rulers who create the police to guard themselves in the name of guarding the people and the administrators to collect more tax in the name of providing citizen services. And "money" can never be equally given because it is not meant to be equally given.

Nevertheless, let us assume for a moment that all of us are of the same economic status, then nobody will work for anybody since you are not my boss anymore. Home helps will no longer be available, the employee- employer relationship will end, the king-subject link will be broken and you think this mode of life will be sustainable? What will ensue will be complete societal breakdown and when that happens, civil wars start since a new order must be established, an order where the more powerful dictate terms (as usual). What happened to "Equality"?

So what is "Equality"?
"Equality" is always about equality of "Respect".

No matter whom we deal with or what work we do - it is about respecting what we do, what others do, what others do for us, what we do for others.

No matter if another is cleaning my home or washing my vehicle or is the Riksha Puller or is the Chief Minister of my state or the Prime Minister of my Nation - ALL - must be respected "equally" for the work they do. The basic premise of course is that they all do "positive" work which enrich our daily lives.

From here comes the Doctrine of Equality.