Like liberty, equality is one of the most important concepts of political thought. The French Declaration of Rights of 1789 proclaimed that “Men are born, and always continue to be free and equal in respect of their rights.” The American Declaration of Independence said the same thing earlier in these words, “We hold this truth to be self-evident that all men are created equal”. The popular meaning attached to the term equality is that all men are equal and all should be entitled to the same treatment, and have an equal amount of income or wealth. It means that they get identity of treatment.
But such an equality does not exist. Men are not equal in mental or bodily powers. Nature has not created all men equal. Inequalities are the most obvious facts of human life. Every man, woman and child is different in mind, body and character from all others. Some persons are white, and others are black, some are big, others small, some are intelligent and others are not so, and so on. Thus men and women differ from each other in their capacities, wants, needs, habits ideas, ambitions, interests, and other mental, moral and bodily equalities.
These inequalities are due to nature and nurture, that is, due, to heredity and social experience and education. Even two brothers are not alike, although they are born to the same parents and are brought up and educated in the same environment. If inequalities are the inescapable facts of human life, it is also impossible to level them down and establish equality. Even if the State or law established quality in wealth and other material possessions, it would be unable to maintain them, because the natural differences among men will enable them to bring about inequality of wealth again. And if the State maintains equality by means of its coercive authority, it would destroy the springs of human energy and initiative and cause dull uniformity and laziness in the society. So we conclude that the idea of equality does not mean the equality of reward or wealth, or equality or uniformity of human mind, body and character. Such an absolute equality is an impossible ideal. Nevertheless, “inequality”, as de Tocqueville remarked, “has ever been the breeding ground of all revolutions, which have changed the face of the world”.
The principle of equality arose as a protest against the class distinctions and injustices of the medieval society. These inequalities persist even to day. Ritchie said that the idea of equality arose in the early modern time as a protest against the privileges and injustices of the feudal nobility. In what sense, then, can we say that men are equal?