We often think of equality as a math problem. That somehow everything should be the same on both sides of the equation. However, in the real world, achieving such a level of equality is complex and can lead to unfairness. It’s important to understand the challenges and complexities of striving for equality.

As we strive for equality, most of us often question whether we should still try to achieve it even if we know it seems impossible. Understanding America’s political socioeconomic playing field makes the perfect idea of equality seem far-fetched and difficult to achieve.

What Equality Truly Is

If we take equality out of the social perspective that we often believe it to be,  it is mostly just an idea of uniformity.  People’s power status or economic capacities do not give them a certain advantage or disadvantage in trying to do something they want.

Now, let’s move on to the idea of equality in the social sense, which is what most of us actually think about when we talk about equality. Social justice means that all individuals, regardless of their social or economic groups, will be afforded the same treatment and treated fairly, which is usually our end goal as we strive for equality.

This, however, is not the case because there are instances of people being oppressed, exploited, and marginalized. When we talk about inequality and social injustices, the first thing that we often talk about is racism because it shows that a particular population was favored while another was historically oppressed.  Because of their skin color, they were not afforded the same rights and privileges, meaning there is no distributive justice in the social, political, and economic benefits.

Is Equality Possible?

Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash

Most of us think equality can be accomplished by giving everyone the same things. For example, everyone should be afforded the same rights, and all privileges should be given equally. Though this is correct and true, it is not the perfect depiction of equality. When we talk about and strive for equality, it means recognizing each individual’s capacities and adjusting the privileges we give based on these.

Let us take the example of affirmative action. Most people believe that affirmative action is a perfect example of what equality truly is because it grants certain privileges to those who are already disenfranchised in society.  For example, we give a monthly allowance to those living below a particular economic bracket to help them alleviate the burden of providing basic needs for themselves and their families.  In this case, it would be viewed as unfair if we were to give everyone, including the rich, this type of monthly allowance because not only do they not need it,  but it also does not try to fix the underlying issue. In this scenario, people like the homeless who cannot afford food for themselves are helped because it aids them to do the bare minimum so that they can worry more about applying for jobs and finding a safe place to stay.

So, if we think about this in the larger sense, equality is very hard to achieve because you need to understand what each group needs and what they are oppressed or marginalized for.  Being able to strive for equality does not simply mean giving everything equally and just taking action by giving handouts.  There needs to be a dissection and an understanding of the actual situation in order to fully grasp what is required and what needs to be done.

Why Should We Strive For Equality?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Because of how difficult it is to give everyone equal opportunity, as explained earlier,  it is very easy just to give up as we strive for equality. It takes a lot of effort to know what is happening around us and how it is experienced by different people, which is why it is not always a priority for a lot of lawmakers and people in authority. It is so much easier for people to just talk about equality instead of putting in the effort to strive for equality.

However, we should not just think about how hard equality is but understand the benefits of achieving it. In equality, we promote a just and fair society. This seems perfect because people are no longer discriminated against for their skin color, weight, gender, or age. This means that as we strive to uphold justice, we must never give up in our fight for equality. Remember that even the tiniest stone can cause a ripple in the pond, and as we strive for equality, we must begin with the first step.

Because of this, we often want to imagine a future where the political, social, and economic playing field has been leveled and everyone can afford the basic needs to survive. Want a book depicting this world? Read Let the Playing Field Level the Playing Field by Dennis Joiner today!