Equality In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

It is a common belief in modern society that the best way to resolve all of the social issues encountered today is to obtain absolute equality. In Kurt Vonnegut’s, “Harrison Bergeron,” the author gives the reader a look into how being part of an equal society like that of 2081 is not as ideal as it seems. Vonnegut describes a society in which everyone is equal to one another in every aspect. No one is better looking or smarter than another. Along with this, she expresses that having disabilities makes survival an easier task in the society. This piece demonstrates that equality, though a quintessential future, is not something really worth striving for and that the concept of equality itself is just a mistaken goal that is dangerous in the

way it could be implemented and the consequences it could have.
Equality remains as one of the most controversial topics of human society. The majority of people believe that in any kind of government, it is important to have equal rights and that no single person should be above another. There are countries like the United States that go on to include their view of equality in their Declaration of Independence. But no matter how equality is introduced, there is a continuous division in society based on social and economic status, which often has a connection to an individual’s intellect. (Luxemburg, 78). In Vonnegut’s piece, the government controls society based on every aspect including appearances and level of intelligence. The author expresses a situation where leaders dictate over others by using physical and mental handicaps in order to achieve equality. Vonnegut goes on to describe the society as a place where, “Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.” (Vonnegut, 1). The issues that arise in the short story, present to the reader that total equality does not guarantee a perfect world. Vonnegut’s story goes against the common beliefs of modern society today since a great amount of people strive to obtain equal rights in different aspects.
Additionally, advocating for total equality depends on the perspective from which a person views the world.

Feminists are known to seek equality for women, and many argue against the idea because it is believed that change is not necessary or convenient at all. One of the main issues that women want to resolve is the gender pay gap. Achieving economic equality is one of the most controversial affairs humanity deals with today. (Blank, 119). In her book, “Marxism and Feminism,” Shahrzad Mojab, an Iranian woman who grew up in the United States, discusses the social issues regarding the economy and gender, and how it is a topic that is often put aside. Mojab states, “The left’s analysis of the regime’s rhetoric of anti-US imperialism also revealed their economistic/workerist approach in which the dialectics of the inner relation of religion, patriarchy and capitalism was obscured in the simplistic binary of the internal/external enemy.” (Mojab, 17). Her statement provides an example of the fact that humans tend to put the economy above other seemingly less important matters. Vonnegut’s argument in regards to the economy deals with the impossible task of being able to distribute wealth and power equally. Vonnegut provides George Bergeron’s situation as an example of what extreme measures a government could take in order to attain all sorts of equality including, economical. He states, “It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would

send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” (Vonnegut, 1). The author believes that the only way “equal” distribution can be attained is by limiting the most intuitive citizens. Thus a reader that prioritizes the economy, could be shifted to analyze the possible situations that could result if a government were to take extreme measures to obtain economic equality.
Furthermore, the influence that a government can have on its citizens is highlighted by Vonnegut in this particular story. It is demonstrated that the government has the capability to impact an individual’s actions in order to fulfill the government’s goals. This sort of situation is already seen in countries ruled by a dictatorship. As Vonnegut explains, a government has the power to influence its citizens to follow a system of total “equality”. Often citizens are afraid of what could occur if they defy their government. A totalitarian government and the common fear of the government is the situation presented for the citizens of the United States in 2081. The author describes the Bergeron’s situation as follows, “He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” (Vonnegut, 1). In this case, George faces cruel results because of the new laws being implemented by the government. The citizens refuse to go against the rules because they fear that the government will punish them severely just like they punished Harrison Bergeron as demonstrated later on in the story. Vonnegut expresses the power that government officials have over those they are above and how dangerous such power could be if given to the wrong person.
Similarly, one of the most significant reasons for the general belief in society that equality is the solution to most, if not all, social issues, is that a great majority of people believe that justice is driven by equality.

Such a belief rises from the fact that the social issues, humans face today are because of the differences found among each other. As previously mentioned humans are often grouped into different classes based on factors like race or gender because no two people can be considered completely alike. In her book “The Concept of Justice and Equality: On the Dispute between John Rawls and Gerald Cohen,” Elian Saade, discusses the different views of two respected philosophers, regarding what is known to be social justice. After pondering about Rawl and Cohen’s explanations of the relationship between justice and equality, Saade comes to the conclusion that, “Without equality, justice can neither be defined, nor achieved.” (Saade, 13). Such a statement reflects the sort of ideology shared by people in modern society. In “Harrison Bergeron,” justice is maintained because every individual presented has been adjusted to share the same abilities as others. Though in present day the only way to obtain total justice seems to be by imposing absolute equality, such actions may not be the best solution as Vonnegut clearly

explains.
Moreover, one of the main features that differentiates humans from other species is that no one is completely alike. Among the estimated 7 billion people living on Earth today, there are no two people that will be similar to one another in such way to be called “equal.” The differences found among the population is what gives humanity its much admired beauty. Today, society views the brightest and best-looking people as the example of what everyone should strive to be like. Often men and women seek to better themselves in order to be similar to someone else. Now, in the perfect society, no one would be better than anyone else. Everyone would be treated equally without worrying about others outperforming them. Vonnegut explains that in order for such a situation to occur, people like Harrison Bergeron, who is described as “a genius and an athlete who is under-handicapped and should be regarded as extremely dangerous...” (Vonnegut, 2) would have to be limited in order for citizens to not feel the surpassed. Such a situation can be thought of as illogical, but as Vonnegut presents to the reader, those that strive for total equality have no real idea of what could occur if something goes wrong. Society would no longer view those with better skills as the root for one’s improvement, but it is unknown at exactly what cost.
Overall, it is clear that Vonnegut’s piece gives a thoughtful insight into the reality behind total equality. “Harrison Bergeron” makes one realize that it may be impossible to attain the most flawless society, without losing the one’s individual identity. The piece does not necessarily intend to convince the reader to lose all hope, but instead its main goal is to get them to understand all of the possibilities that exist when trying to make huge change happen. The story provides a sort of reality check for those that wish for total equality, but have not taken the time to consider what exactly it would mean to form a completely equal society. A reader must make their own conclusions regarding what total equality would imply, but in order to so they must remember to analyze the possibilities outside of the ideal world.