Equality

Equality is a fundamental concept in the modern political lexicon, drawn from a philosophical presumption of the equal worth of human beings regardless of their endowments, attributes, or socioeconomic status. Equality is defined legally as equal-standing rights and responsibilities of individuals under the law, and it is understood politically as equal rights of participation in the process of government. The etymology of equality (Greek, isotes; Latin, aequitas, aequalitas) suggests qualities of correspondence and proportional value, wherein two or more distinct entities may be related or referenced to one another in certain ways, more than sameness or identical likeness, wherein two entities are indistinguishable from each other. Assertions of equality do not presume undifferentiated identity.

[Page 1212]The concept of equality has long been recognized as fundamentally problematic. ...