The Insidiousness of 'Equity Versus Equality'
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Once upon a time, the buzz word from the left was “equality.” They wanted everyone to be equal to one another, which isn’t such a bad thing. Everyone should be equal before the eyes of the law.
However, equality has fallen by the wayside. Why?
Because “equality” left too much wiggle room. Most of us believe in “equality of opportunity.” We don’t like the deck being stacked against anyone. The idea that if the playing field is level, then the best rise to the top isn’t really controversial in most circles. We don’t mind getting beaten by someone who is better than us.
What some wanted, though, was equality of outcome. They want everyone to end up around about the same point. If everyone is at the same level, then no one is better or wealthier.
See, “equality” has traded places with “equity.”
In other words, the idea is that rather than providing a level playing field for everyone, then people should be given a boost up. It’s about “equality of outcome” in a package that makes it impossible for anyone to misunderstand.
And on the surface, it sounds good if you don’t know any better. After all, a nation full of rich people sounds great. The idea of even the poorest Americans living in mansions is a wonderful dream.
It’ll never happen, though.
See, some people are poor because, well, they make bad choices. Trust me, I’d be a lot better off financially if I’d made better decisions through the years. I might have staved off some of the worst times in my life if I had.
So understand, I’m not judging people harshly when I say this. I’m right there with them.
On the flip side, some people seemingly have a sixth sense about financial matters. They know how to balance the risks of investments in such a way that they make wise, advantageous decisions.
The poor ye shall have with ye always.
The rich ye shall have with you always too.
Yet for those pushing equity, they don’t understand that. They don’t get that the reason you have winners and losers isn’t because the deck is stacked, but because human nature means some people are going to be better at some things than others would be.
Instead of understanding human nature, they want to work against it. They want to push a pie-in-the-sky idea that somehow, we can all be at the same level.
Even if we can, though, the evidence is clear that such a level isn’t good for everyone.
From Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to Cuba and Venezuela, time and time again, programs meant to create equity ends up bringing everyone down to poverty levels.
Actually, it’s worse than poverty levels as we know them in the United States.
Equity, as the term is used by the social justice jihadists that plague our great nation, is nothing more than a bid to enact communism.
Oh, they might claim otherwise, but communism is predicated on the same class-warfare rhetoric and seeks the exact same goals. It seeks to punish the wealthy for the benefit of people who have done nothing to deserve that money.
It’s why mentions of “equity” should cause all of us to get uneasy.
When we hear it, it’s important to call it out, to call it precisely what it is, a bid for “equality of outcome.” It seems to cut some off at the knees just because others aren’t quite as tall.
They’re the people who read Harrison Bergeron and thought it sounded like a swell idea.
Never let them gain hold because if they do, we’ve already seen where it leads.
