Most Americans believe in fairness. Indeed, fairness is so deeply ingrained in our social fabric that blatant inequality is difficult to justify. When those in power discriminate against a group, they dehumanize them. But those of us on the left are not only for fairness and equality, we believe that inequalities must be redressed and that we must build a society where equality is an everyday reality. Each of the popular movements on the left struggles to overcome inequity.
Peace advocates protest the inequities inherent in the military budget.
When environmentalists protest against a toxic waste dump like the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Hermiston, Oregon, which leaked sarin and mustard gas in September 1999, they are not only protesting the dump itself, but also the tendency of the powerful to foist off society's waste on the poor. The environmental movement has expanded the contemporary notion of fairness by broadening it to include respect for all planetary life. A typical campaign for equality passes through three phases. And it is here that most of the left gets bogged down. Despite the overall progress that women have made, they are still paid less than men.