Should All People Be Treated Equally in a Society? Egalitarianism (from French égal, meaning "equal") - or, rarely, equalitarianism - is a trend of thought that favors equality for particular categories of, or for all, living entities ("Egalitarianism"). Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status. Equity is probably one of the most fundamental values common to all people in a society. Equity can be elusive; however, it is usually defined in terms of how equals are treated by government policies and the legal system, and how we decide who these equals are. The concept of equality is multifaceted; the literature on theories of equality is immense and the application of these theories is complex. My definition of equality is the state or quality of being equal.
Should people be truly treated equally? Can it ever be possible to achieve true equality even if we wanted to? No. It’s just not in our nature nor is it fair to the citizens around us. It hides people’s true talents, will cause chaos without the government, and it isn’t fair financially. Besides, no one, no country, or nothing’s perfect. We shouldn’t or can’t force everyone into thinking they’re equal and should be treated the same, it’s just never going to happen.
In the novel Animal Farm (Orwell), Orwell writes about a world where animals overthrow the oppressive farmer Mr. Jones and try to construct a society based on the founding principal that all animals are equal. As I read Animal Farm, it was discovered that the animal society is not so different from human society. Many societies have attempted to implement this idea of equality at the onset of a revolution. For example, the motto of the French Revolution was “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”, which is french for “Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood)" . Likewise, at the onset of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson set the tone when he wrote that “All men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence. In both the Russian and Chinese Revolutions, revolutionary leaders gained support among the peasants and workers by embracing the socialist idea that class differences should be erased to achieve equality. In all of these revolutions, people became captivated by this vision of a life filled with equality. However, what exactly is equality? Does equality mean that everyone receives the same opportunities? Does equality mean that everyone deserves the same paycheck? Does equality mean that everyone should pay the same taxes? Does equality mean that everyone should have an equal voice in government? Does equality mean that everyone should expect the same standard of living? Does equality mean that everyone has the same athleticism and intelligence? Is equality actually a feasible goal or is it just a lofty ideal that will always lie beyond our reach?
Throughout history, man has strived to create a society in which the needs of all who live within it are met. Many different creative thinkers have pondered upon the idea of an ideal society. Thomas More and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have both expressed their own thoughts about what an ideal society might be. Government, free will, and equality are all different variables of society that impact daily life. Individuals within a society possess different values and ideals; this, therefore, creates different views of what an ideal society is defined by. The ideals of each individual within a society must be upheld in order for an ideal society to exist. An ideal society is unattainable due to the subjective nature of humanity.
Equality is when everyone, and everything is treated the same, with the same respect, everyone gets the same amount of everything; Food, money, same size house, no matter what. Equality sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Everyone gets the same paycheck, no matter what job there is, getting the same grades even if one student doesn’t work as hard as another. Sounds ideal, but in my eyes, it is nothing but a dream and very unrealistic.
Humans have been corrupted with the thought of inequality. We have already learned that teachers aren’t paid as much as dentist. We already have been taught if someone works harder and is more educated, they are considered successful and to have gone somewhere in life. We have been corrupted with competition. It’s in government elections, sports and entertainment. If everyone got the same paycheck, there would be no motivation to get an important job that is seen as more successful than others; like a doctor, lawyer, therapists and so on, which are very much needed in life. Sure, there are people who want to be those things, simply to help the people who need it, but generally speaking, if you aren’t getting paid as much as you should, there is less motivation to aspire to have one of those careers. If there is no motivation to get a job, there would be no motivation to get an education. No one would wish to be educated and just go straight into the work force, knowing that no matter what, they are going to get the same pay as everyone else no matter what they do in life. If one student does really well on a test, and deserves an A, but another doesn’t try and deserves an F, it’s either one of the other, and it’s not at all fair or by any means “equal.” This makes the general quality of life go down.
Since we were young most of us have been taught “Everyone should be treated equal”. That if we treat everyone equally we will eventually achieve a perfect nation. Although in theory, this sounds flawless, it can never be reached. We all love the idea of treating everyone equally, but it’s just impossible due to human nature. Humans will always have that feeling of wanting to be better than everyone else. An example being models- they’re being paid to be better than everyone else, physically. And men got paid 30 cents more than women. You can’t tell a millionaire that they’re no better than a homeless man.
I watched a short film “2081″ where it shows what society would look like if there were true equality. The “beautiful” people were forced to wear masks so the normal people wouldn’t feel less if they looked at them. The ballerinas were weighted so they wouldn’t intimidate others with their graceful dancing. Intelligent citizens wore a device that produced a sharp pitched sound whenever they thought, because they were “too smart” (James Cosmo). When you force people into equality, it hides what made them, them. It covers what made them unique and different from everyone else. You’re basically just molding everyone into clones of the average human. No one is able to show their full potential.
The principles of equality are most relevant in context but might play a role in a variety of social justice issues. The idea of fair treatment is a matter of giving people what they deserve. In general, people deserve to be rewarded for their effort and productivity, punished for their transgressions, treated as equal persons, and have their basic needs met. However, because these principles may come into conflict, it is often difficult to achieve all of these goals simultaneously.
According to the principle of equity, a fair economic system is one that distributes goods to individuals in proportion to their input. While input typically comes in the form of productivity, ability or talent might also play a role. People who produce more or better products; either by working harder, or by being more talented, this argument goes, should be paid more for their efforts than should people who produce less. Note that this sort of distribution may not succeed in meeting the needs of all members of society.
In addition, the idea that justice requires the unequal treatment of unequal is in tension with the principle of equality. This principle of egalitarianism suggests that the fairest allocation is one that distributes benefits and burdens equally among all parties. If there are profits of $100,000, and 10 people in the company, the principle of equality would suggest that everyone would get $10,000. This principle, however, ignores differences in effort, talent, and productivity. Also, because people have different needs, an equal initial distribution may not result in an equal outcome.
A principle of need, on the other hand, proposes that we strive for an equal outcome in which all society or group members get what they need. Thus poor people would get more money, and richer people would get less. This principle is sometimes criticized because it does not recognize differences in productive contributions or distinguish between real needs and manifested needs.
Equity, equality, and need are not principles adopted for their own sake but rather ones endorsed to advance some social goal (Folger, Sheppard and Buttram); for example, while equity tends to foster productivity, principles of equality and need tend to stress the importance of positive interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging among society members.
If we somehow managed to create a society where people are treated and felt somewhat equal, it would be pretty crazy. There are many problems with this idea though, and one of them is that there could not be a true form of government, and without some kind of government, people crumble. In a “completely equal” society, a president/prime minister or any hierarchy would be considered too high above everyone else. A government would not be needed in communism, because people would instead work together and help each other. That sounds great, but I believe that it is too much to ask for, considering human nature.
All men being created equal is the ideal. Equality is being confident in yourself and others around you, that deep inside others won’t look down on you. We were made differently for a reason, or else unique wouldn’t be a word. All men are created equal, but do not remain equal. I strongly believe that is as it should be. People, who take advantage of an opportunity for an education, work hard and strive to be their best should not be treated as equal with a slacker who never even tries. To sum up, people have difference strengths and weaknesses, there are people that abuse the system, and there needs to be someone in charge. Communism sounds good in theory but it is not a realistic goal. Equality is an intangible goal hence I do not think that it will ever be possible to have a functioning communist society, no matter how many years pass; human nature will not allow communism to function properly.
Equality is a very risky thing for a society, a policy of enforcing equality would likely have more negative effects than beneficial ones. Ultimately, I disagree that all people should be treated equally because people will never feel completely equal to one another. It’s simply not possible in this world, sad as it is, it is true.

Works Cited

"Egalitarianism". Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 23 May 2013 .
2081. Dir. Chandler Tuttle. Perf. Julie Hagerty, Armie Hammer James Cosmo. 2009.
Folger, Robert, Blair H Sheppard and Robert T Buttram. "Equity, Equality and Need: Three Faces of Social Justice." San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 1995. 262.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. England, 1945.