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Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Equality Is The Soul Of Equality In Society

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INTRODUCTION “Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it. “ - Frances Wright Among the billions of natural beings in this world, innumerable inequalities abound. People are different and unequal in many aspects. They belong to different races, religions, sexes, nations and so on. Their physical, genetical and mental abilities also differ. People differ with how they approach life and are taught to live their lives. The range of inequalities and disparities that humans display is very wide this is an accepted fact. Yet, as humans we believe, and rightly so, according to one’s own perspective that …show more content…

In its general usage, Equality is a very vague and wide term. The word equality originates from the latin word, aequalitas which basically means ‘equal’. Through the following few pages, we would like to give you a better understanding of the above-mentioned …show more content…

Rousseau advocates equality in society. He advocated an equal distribution of rights but not an equal distribution of rank. For instance he does not, reject differences in property and rank, as has been seen when he says “Distributive justice would be opposed to the rigorous equality of the state of nature, even if it were practicable in civil society.” Throughout, Rousseau’s political writings he has remarked on a single theory of distributive equality. He implies that Political inequaities are wrong because they do not respond to natural inequalities and states that with the devopment of private proeprt and more complex human society, private property is invented, and the labour necessary for human survival is divided among different indivisuals for the whole. This division of labour and the beginning og private poerperty llow the property owners and all those who live off the labour of others to dominate and exploit the

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This and nothing else” (Rand 101). Equality now knows what his freedom is. He understands how he can continue his new life in better ways, without the difficulty of his brothers, and with the history of men and his future

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Someone needs to arouse Equality’s primal instinct that has been buried by his camaraderie, and her name is Liberty. “Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, no kindness and no guilt. […] They threw seeds from their hand as if they deigned to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was as a beggar under their feet” (49). For the first time Equality feels desire and knows pain.

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Equality lives in a collectivist society, which is a society that believes, “that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.” Therefore, Equality being the person he is, struggles with being an individual. He knows it is against the law but he enjoys knowledge so much, it confuses him. He states, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil! - and in our heart there is the first peace we have known in 20 years.”

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Equality being a miserable Street Sweeper wished to be part of something more important in his society. This was understood to be the Council of Scholars. He believed that, “No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars. ” (Rand, 54) Equality always had a burning thirst to join the Council of Scholars since he was a little boy, but was very shocked, in the beginning of the story, when he was placed in the position of a Street Sweeper.

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Living in a world with complete fairness among people sounds perfect, but not when everyone in your society is forced to be completely the same. In the story Anthem, Equality is a character that is different from the others in his society of forced sameness. Equality longs to learn and expand his knowledge, however, there are rules that halt Equality from following his own will, but also push him to learn more. No one is allowed to read, write, experiment, or explore. These rules allow the community to be easily controlled, and forces them to stay similar to one another.

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Of course, there would be freedom for those on the upper rungs of society who benefit from inequality. However, this small segment of the population does not represent the people. Without the base of equality, society would still exist in the past state of aristocracy, and the rights of the people would be surrendered to the limited few who concentrate most of the power. This much was clear to Tocqueville, who attributed the “middle-class and democratic freedom of which the world’s history had not previously provided”(34) to the absence of inequality found in America(33). However, this does not necessarily mean that equality guarantees

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Political philosophers: Jean Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke had quite opposing viewpoints, particularly on their political ideals. Rousseau and Burke’s perspectives on what the political system should be are directly influenced by the assumptions held in their personal beliefs on the origins of inequality. While they both articulate their positions, there is a severe lack of evidence and sustenance for the underlying assumptions in Burke’s argument of education and the social hierarchy, which is why Rousseau’s concepts are more compelling. However, when compared economically Burkes concepts have greater value. Rousseau's perspective in the Second Discourse initiated the discussion of inequality by distinguishing between the two types: "moral"

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Webster Dictionary defines equality as the similitude in value or status. A simplistic definition , but how does this definition fluctuate when in correlation to the simplistic nature of relationships. For partners in any relationship whether familial , platonic ,or sexual there must be a semblance of equality. The article “Equality in Relationship” states “When one partner maintains power and control over the other .The relationship is extremely unbalanced and unequal”.

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Before commenting on Locke and Rousseau’s policies, one must examine their basis for property, inequality, and

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On the other hand, Werther takes an extremely Romantic approach, with his life and experiences demonstrating the limitations of a rational society. In Discourse on the Origin of Moral Inequality, Rousseau rationally determines that the emergence of society and the invention of property directly cause moral inequality between people, specifically, the rich and the poor. First, he establishes the state of nature as a basic system, with no complex morality or rationality involved, unlike the states of nature described by Hobbes and Locke. At the most fundamental degree, Rousseau places mankind at the same level as other animals.

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Not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal . . . A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.”

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Thus, both men would evaluate the statement that “in a legitimate state all men are free and there is no inequality,” differently. Rousseau would mostly disagree, holding that the state itself is the impetus for inequality. Hobbes would largely agree, contending that men are equal both in a primitive state of conflict and under a sovereign’s awesome power. These different responses result from the philosophers’ opposing views on fundamental human nature, civil society’s raison d’etre, and government’s inevitable form. --- Rousseau begins his

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The term equal needs an interpretation or rather a definition in order to use it in a discourse of some sort. Has it become a vague term? Equal in what? In abilities, in physiognomy, in rights, or maybe in dignity? The social order with its predetermined roles has resulted in different shades of equality.

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I write today to inscript my view upon the importance of equality, to retain the true quality of knowledge needed to make a meaningful decision of what equality brings to our world. Equality has been one of the most talked about topics of our time, given its variety and range of importance equality has had an immense effect on the entire world. Altercations have been in our world from the time humans had inhabited it, but mainly due to the variety of differences that we all withhold. From religion, to the color of our skin and even going as far as our sex and or gender. Many men and women have stood for their cause and have went down in history as heros, such as Margaret Sanger an outspoken advocate for women’s reproductive rights, Margaret opened the first birth control clinic in

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Fair, equal, just - it seems they’re defined by similar words too. I’m sure many of you must have had a similar thought, and it’s important that we understand that this is not something that should be criticised (except maybe for equity being shares). Rather, it only tells us that despite all our differences in religious and cultural beliefs, upbringing, socio-economic status and education, we have an inherent sense that equality for all is justice — it is only fair to treat everyone else the way we expect ourselves to be treated. Exactly so, justice is equality — it is a fundamental right every being

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