Inequality of Equality

Understanding difference of parity

Not all equality manifests identically. As a society we are often very focused on a concept of ubiquitous equality, however, first, we must understand that equality as a generic concept is impossible due to differentiation of egalitarian focus.

There are several, often contradictory, types of equality. Understanding these categories of equality can be incredibly helpful in taking steps to adapt ideologies, systems, or society to being more usefully egalitarian

Replication

Equality of replication is a form of equality in which the experience of each individual is maintained and reproduced in identical form to all other individuals. In such a system members would need to suffer suppression of free will to guarantee absolute consistency of experience.

For example: A school which mandates all students attend the exact same classes taught in the same way at the same time of day wearing the same uniforms without any acceptable divergence.

Outcome

Equality of outcome reflects a system where despite the freedom of diversity throughout the process a consistent guaranteed outcome is mandated. Under Equality of outcome all individuals would be allowed freedom of choice, however, those choices would need to be altered or influenced to ensure a consistent outcome.

For example: A school which requires that an equal number of male and female students be granted athletic scholarships. In the event of a greater interest skewed towards one gender access would have to be discouraged or denied in order to ensure an equal balance of scholarship distribution.

Opportunity

Equality of Opportunity manifests as a system that allows individuals freedom to choose their path based on interest and personal goals despite relative outcomes. Within this system, the freedom of the individual to choose is protected, however, the outcome of that choice is not.

For example: Men and women enrolled in medical school are free to choose the specialty that they desire. However, male students tend to skew towards higher-paying specialties such as oncology, neurology, or surgery whereas female students tend to skew towards more fulfilling roles such as pediatrics, and psychology.

Autonomy

Equality of autonomy is the concept that the ability and means to choose our life course should be spread as equally as possible across society. Under equality of autonomy, individuals would be empowered to manage their lives in a way that they deem ideal so long as they are not infringing upon the autonomy of others within society.

For example: People are allowed to smoke, drink, or consume copious levels of unhealthy food within modern society, however, they are equally free to pursue a healthy, active lifestyle. They are also free to choose a lifestyle which is, in any part, a combination of both.

Perception

Equality of perception is one's ability to sense they are granted equal rights, autonomy, opportunity and protection in society. Equality of perception does not guarantee actual equality, rather, it focuses on ensuring the impression of it.

For example: Everyone is granted an equal vote in a democratic system, however, the selection of candidates is often controlled by an elite minority.

Process

Equality of process reflects a system where individuals following similar paths can expect a similar experience through that system. Equality of process would dissuade situations in which certain individuals are able to overcome aspects of the system due to unequal advantage.

For example: A school that requires all students face the same interview, essay, and exam in order to qualify for potential acceptance regardless of their individual status or previous ability level.

Value

Equality of value protects individuals from the bias of remuneration influenced by unrelated factors such as gender or race. Equality of value, however, does not guarantee equality of outcome and thus the variation of relative individual choice or ability can have a vast impact on value.

For example: Employees of different skin colors who complete the same work with the same level of effectiveness expect to enjoy equal incomes. However, if one employee is more effective than the other he or she would expect a higher salary.

Conclusion

As an extended exploration into the specifics of equality is analyzed it becomes obvious that some forms of parity are able to exist as complementary aspects of a compound equality, however, other forms of equality impede each other.

Moving through our lives we should be acutely aware of the forms of equality that we advocate while also being critical of vapid calls for equality as a generic egalitarian construct.