Political egalitarianism
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Political egalitarianism describes an inclusive and fair allocation of political power or influence, fair processes, and fair treatment of all regardless of characteristics like race, religion, age, wealth or intelligence.[1][2] Political egalitarianism, and its close cousin political equality, are key founding principles and sources of legitimacy for many democracies.[1] Related principles include one person, one vote and equality before the law.[3]
Discussion
[edit]Egalitarianism
[edit]Egalitarianism denotes the belief that all people are of equal fundamental worth and should have equal status.[2] Egalitarians tend to focus more on process and treating people as social equals than on the raw distribution of power.[4]
Political equality
[edit]Political equality is only achieved when the norms, rules and procedures that govern the community afford equal consideration to all.[4] Robert Dahl believes that the ideal of democracy assumes that political equality is desirable.[5] He goes on to argue that political equality and democracy are supported by the inherent intrinsic equal worth of every person (intrinsic equality) and the tendency of concentrated power to corrupt.[6]
Equality before the law
[edit]Equality before law means that the law applies to all peoples equally and without exceptions. For example, the freedom of speech should apply the same to all members of a society. Laws can sometimes be designed to help minimize unequal application.[7] Well-designed constitutions, for example, can help protect political rights in functioning democracies.[8][9]
See also
[edit]- "All men are created equal"
- Deliberative democracy
- Democratization
- Human rights
- Money in politics
- Political freedom
- Positive liberty
- Sortition
- Universal suffrage
References
[edit]- ^ a b Peter, Fabienne (2007-08-01). "The Political Egalitarian's Dilemma". Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 10 (4): 373–387. doi:10.1007/s10677-006-9057-z. ISSN 1572-8447. S2CID 144836352.
- ^ a b Arneson, Richard (2013), "Egalitarianism", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-11-05
- ^ Verba, Sydney (January 2001). "Political Equality: What Is It? Why Do We Want It?". Russell Sage Foundation. p. 19.
- ^ a b Beramendi, P., Besley, T. and Levi, M. (2022), ‘Political equality: what is it and why does it matter?’, IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities
- ^ Dahl, Robert Alan (2006). On Political Equality. New Haven (Conn.): Yale University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-300-11607-6.
- ^ Dahl, Robert Alan (2006). On Political Equality. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-300-11607-6.
- ^ Lucy, William (2011). "Equality under and before the law". The University of Toronto Law Journal. 61 (3): 411–465. doi:10.3138/utlj.61.3.411. JSTOR 23018555. S2CID 144874942.
- ^ Jessica Bulman-Pozen & Miriam Seifter, The Democracy Principle in State Constitutions, 119Mich. L. Rev. 859 (2021).
- ^ Lepore, Jill (2021-03-22). "When Constitutions Took Over the World". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
External links
[edit]- "Political egalitarianism" search on Open Library
- Political equality provisions in U.S. State constitutions by TheDemocracyPrinciple.law.wisc.edu