History of mankind speaks that in every society people have struggled for right to equality. It is believed that since all men are equal, they should be treated equal and should have equal participation in the administration of the state. It is said that all men are born equal and nature does not make man rich or poor.
The concepts of Equality have been agitating the minds of people since long and these days right to equality is granted to citizens in all the states. Concept of equality gave rise to socialism and today every state claims to be a socialist state. Like liberty, equality also does not mean absolute equality in respect of work, post, income etc. Equality in its real aspect means existence of equal opportunities and rights, guarantee of economic security and minimum standard of living and absence of any privileged class.
Meaning
Some scholars are of the view that equality means that nature has created all men equal and that all men shall be equal in respect of their income, living standard and enjoyment of facilities and natural resources. All men are born equal and they should share the blessings of nature on euqal basis. They should be treated alike in all walks of life.
But this is not the correct view of equality. It is wrong to say that all men and born equal. Some are non intelligent, some are born fools, some are born physically sound and some are weak from birth, some are bad by nature and some are good. Needs of all the men are also not equal and identical. Some have more capacity to work and some are less capable of doing the same thing. All men cannot be given equal work, equal pay and equal standard of living. Thus equality does not mean that all men are to be treated on equal basis in every aspect.
Broadly speaking, equality means that there should be no discrimination between man and man on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex, place or birth or race and that all should be given equal opportunity for making progress according to their natural faculties and capabilities and that there should be no privileged class in the society.
Characteristics of Equality
From the various definitions of equality we come to know of the following characteristics of equality :
Absence of Special Privileges: There should be no privileged class in the society. No man or group of men in society should be given special privileges. All men should be given equal rights and opportunities and no special privileges should be given to any person on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex, race or wealth etc. Discrimination, if any, should be based on relevant grounds. For example, a blind man has to be given some special privilege as compared to person who is physically fit in all respects. An old man cannot be treated on equal basis with young men in a competition of race.
Equality Before Law : Equality means that all men should be treated equal before law and equal laws should apply to all the persons. There should not be different sets of laws for different persons on the basis of caste, colour or creed. An ordinary person should be liable to same punishment for violation of a law as the other persons are. No person should be treated above law.
Equal Opportunities for Development : Equality means that equal opportunities for development should be available to all the persons in the society. With the availability of equal opportunities, persons will make progress according to their mental and physical capabilities, according to their merit. No man should be denied the opportunity of progress simply on the basis of caste, colour, creed sex or race. All men have equal right of receiving education which is the mainspring of good life. It is wrong to treat a particular class or group that they are born only to serve the other.
Equal Satisfaction of Basic Human Needs : Equality means that all men have equal right of satisfaction of their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. All men must be guaranteed the minimum standard of living before some are allowed to earn plenty and lead comfortable or luxurious life.
Kinds of Equality
There are various kinds of equality, which are as under :
Natural Equality
It means that nature has created all men equal all men equal and that they should enjoy the resources of nature on equal basis. All men are born equal and nobody is rich or poor by birth. Declaration of Rights in France after French Revolution and Declaration of American Independence have supported this view. According to them nature has bestowed all blessings on all men equally and they all should share them on equal basis.
But the concept of natural equality is not practical and real. It is wrong to say that nature has created all men equal. All men are not born equal. Some are born intelligent, some are born fool, some are physically strong and some are born physically weak. All men are not equal in their physical force, mental ability, intelligence, capacity of work and spirit of social service etc.
Natural equality is a myth and all men cannot be given equal work, equal pay and equal facilities. Actually, natural equality means that nature has given all men certain basic qualities on equal basis means that nature has given all men certain basic qualities on equal basis and that all men should have euqal opportunities of progress in the society.
Civil Equality
Civil equality also means legal equality. It means that all men should be treated euqal in the eyes of law and equal laws should apply to all the men equally. Nobody should be above law and that everybody whatever his social or official status may be, should be subject to the same laws. Civil equality means the application of Rule of Law which means :
Equality before law.
Equal laws to be applicable to all.
Provision of rights and facilities to all on equal basic.
Absence of special laws for a special person or group.
No discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, sex or place of birth.
Social Equality
Social equality means that all the members of the society should be treated alike and that they should enjoy facilities in the society on euqal basis. There should be no discrimination between one member of the society and the other on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex or race or birth. No caste should be considered upper or lower, no religion should be good or bad and no man should be respected on the basis of wealth alone.
Social equality means that no person should be denied opportunity of receiving education and make progress, or of making use of facilities and public utility services simply on the basis of caste or religion. Merit should play decisive role for a man to gain respect in the society. Denial of opportunity on the basis of colour or caste is negation of social equality.
When there is no social equality, the society as a whole does not make progress. Those who are socially backward become politically and economically backward also. Thus social equality is very important and all men should have equal opportunities in the society.
Economic Equality
Economic equality is also very important for the individual as well as for the success of democracy. It has been rightly said that political liberty in the absence of economic equality is a mere myth.
Some people think that economic equality means equal pay for all and equal distribution of wealth and property. Such an equality is impossible to achieve. Economic equality means that every individual should be guaranteed for the fulfillment of his basic needs. Bread, clothing and shelter are the basic requirements of everybody, and these necessities must be fulfilled before a few are allowed to lead a comfortable life.
Economic equality means provision of equal opportunities for their daily bread for all and minimum gap between the rich and the poor. Economic equality also means end of exploitations of man by man on account of gap between the poor and the rich. It means that every man should have guarantee of economic security in case of old age, illness, disablement, unemployment etc.
Where there is no economic equality, there can be no democracry worth its name.
political equality
Equality is a pillar of democracy. It means citizens should have right of participation in the administration on equal basis, without any discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, sex, wealth or race. They should have equal political rights. This is possible only in democracy, because in monarchy, aristocracy and dictatorship all citizens do not enjoy equal rights of participation in administration.
Political equality in the first place means giving of right to vote to every citizen on equal basis without any discrimination based on caste, colour creed, sex, race and wealth. Secondly, it also means right to contest election on equal basis. Thirdly, it means equal rights of holding public offices or government jobs. Appointments to government offices should be made on merit, by open competition and not on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex or race or wealth. Fourthly, it means, equal rights to all to criticise the government and present petitions to get their grievances redressed.
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