In the Declaration of Rights of Man (1789) issued by the National Assembly of France during the French Revolution, the following statement was made, “Men are born and always continue, free and equal in respect of their rights.
” A similar statement is found in the American Declaration of Independence (1776): “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” It will be observed that natural equality of man has been emphasized in these statements as a self- evident truth.
The most striking fact about human life is inequality of human beings in bodily proportion, physical strength, mental ability, color, so on and so forth. Inequalities are inescapable. The statement that all men are equal is then as erroneous as that the surface of the earth is level.
There is, therefore, a good deal of controversy as to what equality means and whether it is possible to attain equality in a free society.
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Lord Acton, for instance, regards equality as opposed to liberty on the ground that since men are endowed with unequal capacities and powers, freedom of action would enable those with better talents to make better use of their opportunities and rise higher than the rest. This statement betrays his misunderstanding regarding equality and liberty.
In the opinion of Lord Acton liberty means laissez faire i.e., let the individual be alone. But the doctrine of laissez faire is not all comprehensive. In a modern class- divided society it cannot work without harming the interests of a vast majority of the masses.
Equality, however, does not imply that there should be no difference between man and man on grounds of mental equipment or physical capacity. It does not mean that all should be drilled to a dead level of uniformity. Equality simply means equality of opportunities.
It lies in the absence of special privileges. All barriers of birth, wealth, caste, creed and color should be removed. There should be no difference between man and man on the basis of these discriminations. According to Laski, all should be entitled to the enjoyment of all social and political privileges to which others are entitled.
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The principle of equality is a protest against the present socioeconomic system which allows certain privileged classes to enjoy opportunities denied to the vast masses. According to Prof. Laski, it is an attempt to give each man as similar a chance as possible to utilize what Powers he may possess.
It also means the recognition of urgent needs in all, for instance, food, clothing, and shelter before there is a special recognition of non-urgent claims. Equality demands that before a few can be permitted to indulge in luxuries, the needs of all should be satisfied.
The idea of equality has, therefore, arisen out of the idea of privileges I which exist in a modern capitalist society.
Equality has many aspects—social, political, legal and economic.
Social Equality:
In the social sphere equality implies the removal; of all sorts of caste or class distinctions, which places some on higher level than the other. All men are born equal and all differences among them should be capable of explanation in terms of social welfare.
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It is to be noted that social equality is simply conspicuous by its absence in India j because people believe in caste system which is a negation of social equality.
Efforts have been made by social reformers like Swami Daya Nand, Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi to create an atmosphere of social equality in India. It is in this spirit that the Constitution of India has abolished untouchability by law in order to ensure social equality.
Political Equality :
Political equality means that all citizens* should have equal political right and privileges. It is guaranteed through universal adult franchise, the right to be elected to all representative offices, right to hold any office under the State provided necessary qualifications are fulfilled, the right to form associations, the right to express opinion, freedom of Press, so on and so forth.
Legal Equality:
Legal equality envisages the equality of all before the law. The rich and the poor, the high and low should all be treated alike. No distinction should be made between man and man on the basis of social status, religious faith or political opinion. There should be government of laws as opposed to the government of kings and dictators. The ‘Rule of law’ is practiced in Great Britain and many other countries of the world. It is also the charter of our constitution.
Economic Equality:
Economic equality involves a certain leveling of incomes and removal of gross inequalities of wealth. It doe! not mean that all should have the same income. It simply insists upon the acquisition of a certain minimum standards of income by all before any one can be allowed to have more than this minimum.
No one should have the right to luxuries of life until the essential needs of others arc satisfied. In the words of Laski, “I have no right to take cakes when my neighbor is compelled to go without bread.” Economic equality does not seek to bring about the identity of incomes; it simply implies that there must If sufficiency for all before there can be superfluous with others.
Economic equality has been interpreted by some writers like Bryce in a literal sense as, “the attempt to expunge all differences in wealth, allotting to every man and woman an equal share in worldly goods.” But equality in the correct sense is not equal distribution of wealth.
The concept of equality emphasizes not an equal distribution of wealth but an equitable distribution of wealth. It needs reorganization of capitalist society on the basis of the socialist principle. “From each according to one’s capacity, to each according to the quantity and quality of work put in”.
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Economic equality is the bed rock of real and effective democracy. Social, political and legal equality will automatically be created in a society which is based on economic equality.