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Polity Notes On – Relationship Between Equality And Freedom – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
রাষ্ট্র সংক্রান্ত নোট – সমতা এবং স্বাধীনতার মধ্যে সম্পর্ক – WBCS পরীক্ষা।
The belief of equality is a major assumption of a self-governing society. Equality does not entail complete equality. Equality originates from aequalis, aequus and aequalitas. These are all old French or Latin words. These French/Latin words mean even, level and equal. In general term, equality means full equality of treatment and reward for all. It is needed as natural equality.Continue Reading Polity Notes On – Relationship Between Equality And Freedom – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
It is thought that all men are born natural and free. Nevertheless, despite a strong emotional appeal to hearts of people, the concept of natural and absolute equality of all cannot be fully acknowledged and realised. Men are neither equal in respect of their physical features nor in respect of their mental capabilities. Some are stronger others weaker and some are more intelligent and capable than others.
Actually, equality that all people must have equal opportunities for development. In fact, when we talk of equality of all person we really mean general and fair equality and not absolute equality.
The term equality used in political science differs from uniformity, identity and sameness. Some people, of course, want to use it to denote uniformity. But this does not convey the meaning when it is used by political scientists. Equality does not mean obliteration of diversity.
Theoretical review: Many theorists defined equality in their own way:
According to D.D Raphall, “The Right to Equality proper is a right of equal satisfaction of basic human needs, including the need to develop and use capacities which are specifically human.”
Laski described that “Equality means that no man shall be so placed in society that he can over-reach his neighbour to the extent which constitutes a denial of latter’s citizenship.” Barker opined that “Equality means equal rights for all the people and the abolition of all special rights and privileges”.
G. Sartori explained that “equality has so many facets and so many implications that after we have examined it from all angles we are left with a feeling of not having really mastered it.”
Therefore, as a whole, equality does not mean absolute equality in all spheres and to every person. It does not aim at identity of treatment as intellectual and physical capacity varies. It opposes inequitable treatment. It means complete and absolute equality at the bottom most level and then equal opportunity to develop one’s inner potentiality.
Contemporary notion of political authority was innovated by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, two English thinkers of the seventeenth century. These two intellectuals proclaimed the natural equality of human beings. Hobbes and Locke imagined human beings in a “state of nature” and explained why they would enter into a social contract with each other for their mutual benefit. Out of this contract came government, which was established for the protection of citizens and endowed with powers commensurate to that end. On this account, government derived its authority from the consent of the governed, not the natural superiority of a ruling class.
Neither Hobbes nor Locke concluded that people ought to rule themselves once government was established, however. Hobbes argued that people should submit to an autonomous with absolute powers, while Locke believed they would implicitly accept constitutional kingdom, reserving the right to rebel against unjust governments. Thus, each man insisted on natural equality but stopped short of recommending political equality.
- Equality does not stand for absolute equality. It accepts the presence of some natural dissimilarities.
- Equality stands for absence of all unnatural manmade inequalities and specially privileged classes in the society.
- Equality assumes the grant and guarantee of equal rights and freedoms to all the people.
- Equality infers the system of equal and adequate opportunities for all the people in society.
- Equality means equal satisfaction of basic needs of all the persons before the special needs’, and luxuries of some persons may be met.
- Equality supports an equitable and fair distribution of wealth and resources i.e. Minimum possible gap between the rich and poor.
- Equality accepts the principle of protective discrimination for helping the weaker sections of society. In the Indian political system, right to equality has been given to all and yet there stands incorporated provisions for granting special protection facilities and reservations to persons belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities, women, and children.
The concepts of freedom and equality in a group are defined in terms of individual exertions of influence or power. Freedom is deliberated in the version ‘freedom from’ influence rather than in the version ‘freedom to do’ what one wants. It is revealed that at the ideal conceptual level complete freedom implies equality.
The relationship between freedom and equality is a complex as it is something people have struggled for since the beginning of time and to continue to struggle for today. These two terms are strongly linked, though not inseparable.
Equality has simple meaning. It is resemblance or sameness in quality, power, status, or degree. In simpler terms, it is being the exact same as others. Freedom is the condition of being able to act and think however you want, without being controlled or limited. The relationship between these two first begins by obtaining freedom. Without freedom, one does not have the ability to be equal to others, as he cannot do what he wants. Tocqueville opined that “Men cannot become absolutely equal unless they are entirely free.” One who is not free has a master who makes his choices for him. The only way to rid himself of the master and gain political freedom is to successfully revolt against the state. With this uprising, all people now have the ability to act however they want and because of this they are considered equal. Once they are free from their human masters they are able to lead a life directed by their own free will and compete on a level playing field with the rest of society.
Freedom and equality exist in the state of tension, but they also mutually dependent on each other’s as without freedom equality is meaningless and without equality there will be no real freedom. Equality is prerequisite for freedom and makes freedom possible. The establishment of absolute equality also leads to the loss of equality (Johan Rabe, 2001).
The development of freedom and equality began with The Declaration of Independence which set the precedent that “all men are created equal. Up until this point, equality was something that could not be attained; it was almost a foreign idea. Although only white men in America were considered free after this great document was signed, The Declaration of Independence paved the way for many new forms of equality, most importantly gender and racial equality.
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