Equal Experience

"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"
--Morpheus (The Matrix)

I've been feeling the urge to scribe some vibe on equality. Equality is a word that in today's social context possesses two very different meanings. Operationalizing one or the other meanings in a society will have dramatically different consequences on freedom and economic/social outcomes.

Before heating up the keyboard, I tapped the search feature on this blog and was surprised to find previous posts, all written earlier this year, that housed much of what I wanted originally intended to write about here. The subconscious mind works in mysterious ways, I suppose.

To better elevate some of these thoughts into my consciousness, I thought it useful to revisit these old posts (repetition is the mother of skill...). Here, then, are some reflections on this old post.

Rule of Law vs Rule of Authority. The definition of equality adapted by America's founders was equal treatment under the law. This was and remains a great departure from history. Instead of the rule of law, the dominant government structure that has defined social structure has been the rule of authority. Under the rule of authority, people of different social status are treated differently under the law--i.e., inequality under the law.

Evolution of liberalism. Over time, the legal structure of the US has been migrating from the radical notion of the rule of law toward the traditional notion of rule by authority. The trend has paralled evolution of what it has meant to be a liberal. Classic liberalism was grounded in the notion of individual freedom (liberty) and was suspicious of government and sought to restrain its power. Today's liberalism believe in the increasing authority of the state at the expense of individual liberty. Today's liberals look upon citizens with suspicion and upon governments with approval.

Inequality under the law. Modern liberals typically view equality in terms of leveling of resources. They want everyone to be decently clothed, fed, housed, educated etc and are willing to give government unlimited authority to accomplish the results they approve. America's founding precept of 'equality under the law' is thus replaced by the traditional notion of 'inequality under the law.'

TBC.