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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: September 2, 2006
Latest Update: Setpember 2, 2006
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Can Equality Survive Our Interpretations of Competence and Accountability?In the best of all possible worlds all people would do the best they could at whatever they could do best and together they would build a community with love and support and we would all live happily ever after. Sorry, folks, that doesn't seem to be the way it is. I chose to talk this week about equality and authority because I think those are two of the important factors that shape our world.
The Constitution of the Untied States says that "all men are created equal." Now, we know they left out women there, and slaves, too. John Dean, in Conservatives Without Conscience, suggest that Republicans, when that party was first formed didn't really believe in that kind of equality. (I'll reference that later. jeanne) But since the United States was founded primarily on the basis of liberty and justice for all, everyone has kind of come to accept that Americans believe in equality.
But why on earth would anyone want to deny the equality with which we were all created? Well, consider if you are an Imperial Ruler, who can command whatever you wish. Such imperial sovereignty might be hard to give up, and you might not want to give it up. So it would be to your advantage to decide that the people you rule are lesser beings who should serve you. Nice for you. But chances are they aren't going to be too happy with that. So imperial privileges are one reason for denying equality, to preserve those privileges for yourself, your family, your friends.
Another reason, given by libertarians most often, is competence. By affording the most freedom and wealth to those who are most competent at putting it to good use, the society as a whole will advance farthest. If limits are places on the most capable, humans and society as a hold will be held back in their control of nature and of "progress."
On Saturday, September 2, 2006, Diana Jean Schemo's rticle, "At 2-Year Colleges, Students Eager but Unready," appeared on the front page of the New York Times. It raises this question of equality and the privilege of authority in our own backyard.
Discussion Questions
- How many words can you spot in the essay that leave lots of room for interpretation?
Consider privilege, imperial, competence, freedom, wealth, sovereignty, equality, authority, accounatbility. How are you interpreting these words? How are those in unequal groups interpreting them?
- Can you come up with a quick simple answer to the question: "Can Equality Survive the Measure of Competence and Accountability?"
I can. If large numbers of your citizens are falling into "unequal" groups, them maybe your measure has failed to take into account some important variancee. Are you measuring difference effectively? Are you measuring collaboration effectively? Are you measuring supportive environment and workplace effectively? Are you holding the right people accountable with reasonable measures?
References:
- John Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience.
- Paulo Freire, Educataion for Critical Consciousness.
- best of all possible worlds "In a venerable witticism, the optimist says brightly, "This is the best of all possible worlds," whereupon the pessimist sighs, "I'm afraid you're right." Recommended Reading: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Discourse on Metaphysics and the Monadology, tr. by R. Montgomery (Prometheus, 1992) and Voltaire, Candide (Bantam, 1984)"
