The Dangers of Artificial Equality

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Many people have fought for equality, over many centuries. The basis of inequality is a lack of freedoms. These freedoms are either on an individual basis or on a group basis. Today not many people would argue against allowing women to vote, or allowing different races to eat in the same restaurant. However at a fundamental level is equality dangerous? Can a world like that illustrated in the story “Harrison Bergeron” from Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut become a reality? Can freedom and equality become detrimental to society? Essentially can equality be taken to an extreme that leads to the loss of freedom? To all of these questions the answer is yes. Equality is directly opposed to freedom. However equality is also essential for freedom. Equality and freedom are symbiotic ideas. Parasites that feed off of and destroy the basic building blocks of the other yet cannot live without the other.

According to John Locke in The Second Treatise of Government the state of nature is a “state of perfect freedom.” and equality in which no man has power over another. (Locke 8). Even Locke realizes that the state of nature is not sustainable. The state of freedom relies on reason. Not all men are reasonable. Thus a state of war is entered. (Locke 18). The American political system itself was formed due to a state of war. The taxes levied on the American colonies by the King of England were beyond reason and without the representation of those who pay said taxes. Thomas Jefferson viewed this taxation and subsequent forced collection as an infringement on the basic freedoms every man is born with. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienabl...

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...edoms that god has given us according to Locke. Will we all become equal due to hindrances imposed or will our freedoms continue to be expanded, leading to increased equal opportunity for all. Will gays and lesbians eventually be able to marry in all 50 states? Will the use and sale of marijuana become legal and if so will it be regulated. Do we as free people have the right to die and are doctors held accountable if they fulfill such a request. Freedom and Equality are very dangerous ideas because when one has too much influence the other is lost in society. Can we as humans continue to expand on freedoms and equality while still maintain the balance need between the two for a society that conforms to Locke’s state of nature and provide all citizens equal access to our “unalienable rights”? With proper management these two dangerous ideas remain beneficial.

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