Equality

The goal of economic equality raises a number of questions about what equal means. One question is whether it means equality of outcomes or equality of opportunity. If it is equality of outcomes, how is it measured? Should the goal be to equalize income across people, or to equalize some other goods thought to be important, for instance, equality of health conditions (which need not involve equalizing incomes because some people may require more resources to overcome disabilities to attain good health)? If it is equality of opportunity, how can a level playing field be created? Should the rules that are put in place treat all [Page 512]individuals in the same way, or address problems of certain types of differences, such as handicaps? If large ...