Thread: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger

Hahvy said Yes, I understand that. But when you make a society into a Utopian ideal then everyone is the same as everyone else in very much that way. Click to expand... I'm not trying to be a nit picky dick, I just don't really understand what you're saying. I would like for you to define Utopian ideal, since I thought it was a discussion about equality and for me everyone being equal does not equate creepy homogeneity or even Utopia. When I look at people I know who have a similar background--white heteronormative male, single parent, same level of access to education, same level of general health--we also have wildly dissimilar tastes in music, food, books, style, whatever. I think that if everyone started out with equal access then that would not mean everyone was exactly the same, it would mean that we would just start with the same same available resources. Everyone's going to use those resources differently. Some people will be interested in carpentry and some people in nuclear physics. Hahvy said Would you be a janitor? No, right? Because of social inequalities we have jobs for people who would be what some would consider a lowly janitor because it's a job they can do and still get paid decently because otherwise they would be SOL due to limited education, mental ability, and so on. Click to expand... That doesn't really have anything to do with equality. Being equal doesn't mean everyone makes exactly the same amount of money or gets the good jobs. Being equal means starting on an even playing field with the same level of access that everybody else has. Being equal isn't about nobody having to do a bad job. Being equal means that when you get the same quality of education, you get the same quality of healthcare, you get the same treatment by the court whether your name is Jamal or James. The part of equality people do not often consider is that what equality really comes down to is equal accountability and equal responsibility for your actions as the next guy. Honestly, do you think right now that if I shot somebody I would get the same kind of treatment Bill Gates would get in court? Do you think your random mid-40s Joe Blow low level manager would get the same treatment that Bill Gates would? Also, janitor jobs pay for shit. Show me a world in which I can reasonably take care of potential injuries, pay to raise children, pay for food, pay for reasonably priced rent for a space for myself, my potential wife, and my potential children off minimum wage maybe 13hr. if you're the most well paid janitor in America and I will fucking go there. I know people who make 25hr. and struggle to make sure their kids have everything they need. However, there will always be janitor jobs, and there will always be someone who didn't take advantage of their resources or just aren't smart enough or don't care enough. There are intrinsic characteristics like these that equality would not change. Equality attempts to change the environment, not the individual. Hahvy said And if I recall correctly, inequality amongst the classes brought about public schools, scholarships, after school programs, day-care services, and things of that nature to help lessen the load on the little guy and make things more...what's the word? Equal. So yes, I think inequality has it's place in society but not to outlandish degrees. Click to expand... That's like saying polio is good because we made a polio vaccine. We wouldn't have had to make a polio vaccine if there was never any polio. See what I'm getting at?