Monday, November 28, 2005

Clarifying "A Question of Choice"

I put across the question of equality vs. inequality not because it is above other divisions, nuances, or gray areas but because this question is concerned with one’s desire to actualize a possible state of equality in society. There are no gray areas in this desired state. There can be differences on what will lead to an egalitarian society, what exactly one means by an egalitarian society, and other questions (such as how one defines progress in an egaliatrian state and the role of private property and private enterprise in such a state); however, every one has a certain conception of what constitutes equality. For the sake of this argument, that conception is enough.

The question is simple: Do you want to support principles/develop a new social, political, and economic model/act to change the current state of inequality in society? The question does not assume that the current state is bad nor does it imply that equality is a better state than a state of plenty (where everyone lives above basic comfort levels but some hold much more power and much more wealth than others).

Here’s a quote from Michael Foucault that has some relevance here:

"In fact we know from experience that the claim to escape from the system of contemporary reality so as to produce the overall programs of another society, of another way of thinking, another culture, another vision of the world, has led only to the return of the most dangerous traditions.”

Now, does that mean that a person who holds such an opinion wouldn’t make a choice? Or that this question is not worth answering?

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