Liberty University
Research Paper:
Egalitarianism
Emmanuel A. Brown
ID20716136
GOVT 329
July 2017
Egalitarianism Brown 2
Abstract
Through my research, I have found some harsh truths about the America society. Some of these
truths have been hard to digest. With supporting facts, I will conclusively point out the effects of
our country when it comes to Egalitarianism. This trait in many ways is uniquely associated with
the American culture. The virtue of this Egalitarianism is detrimental when in discussion with
American Exceptionalism. This Egalitarian trait can be uniquely associated with American
culture due to the breaking of barriers and self-righteousness. Furthermore, the discussion of
Egalitarianism as it affects the modern church, will show the platform in which we have held our
opinion and the contrast of change through the church. Many aspects of this trait are impeded in
the current state of the nation.
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Emmanuel A. Brown
Professor Piedmont
GOVT 329
July 2017
Egalitarianism
With the description of many traits, Charles Murray’s American Exceptionalism: An
Experiment in History, defines and bridges the elements of an exceptional culture, community
life, industriousness, religiosity, and Egalitarianism. These elements show source and key points
in progress based on its active occupation. These traits are centered around the evolution of
American culture and have helped shape the early start of American culture. Egalitarianism
brought slow but steady benefits to American Exceptionalism and it is still a part of American
culture today.
Egalitarianism, simply put, is the equality and the even ground for all men and women to have a
common association in society. The equality in this nature helps change the ideology of classism;
ignores all aristocratic traits, removes labels, social stature, and bridges the privileged and the
impoverished. For many centuries, mankind has been challenged by the issue of equality.
Inequality has influenced civil liberty and laws; caused man to wage wars, led to massacres and
as a result gained many shortfalls in return. There should not be any hesitation in acknowledging
other members of society as your equal.
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In the use of "all men are created equal", we dive into the real meaning of what it means
to be equal in American society. Political philosophies like Marxism, Socialism, Anarchism, and
Communism mostly support Egalitarianism to a certain degree. There have been opposing views
that say modern democracy is a conscious awareness of political Egalitarianism, but there are
others who believe most political influences benefit the ruling class, therefore, does not equally
provide for the common people. An example of this is the Declaration of Independence of 1776.
It included a moral and legal Egalitarianism in the dissertation it read “that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the
United States /Amend. XII, Sec. 3. Taft-Hartley Act). Unfortunately, it was not until 1900 that the
American society made changes to slavery, women and other ethnic groups. There are still a lot
of uneven ground and racial, gender and sexist barriers that still need to be fought for.
Many issues in our society lead me to appreciate the short read of Charles Murray’s
American Exceptionalism: An Experiment in History. There is still unrest, classism, division and
a superiority complex in America. Our American history does not sing of uniformity, equality,
and commitment to commonality. Instead, it sings the fight for a land that is stolen, schools that
refused children, the church that revoked its equality teachings, and a government still slow to
see the divide amongst its people. Many great leaders like James Bevel, Roy Wilkins, Nelson
Mandela and Toyohiko Kagawa shaped the Reformation and have awakened the unjust in many
minds. Egalitarianism is a concept that seems very simple, we teach to be taught, in order to
understand the each other. By teaching one another we are able to help with the growth of the
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human race. We bring “equality associated with the rise of competitive market economies”
Arneson, Richard, "Egalitarianism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
In Jeffery Simms’ “Why equality is so important: the challenges of essentialism,
superiority, and supremacism”, Emma describes the world of superiority complex that many
think they are entitled to. He discusses supremacism and the downfall of supremacist behavior in
a United Nation. This country must do away with superiority and supremacy in order to remain
at the top of its game as an influential country in the world. Without doing so, America would
lose its most valued asset, its ‘people’. People control the economic state that helped in
establishing the foundations of the economy, financial, industrial, agricultural, production and
consumption of the country.
This Egalitarian trait came to be uniquely associated with American culture due to the
breaking of barriers and self-righteousness. Many social groups are forcing the issue of equality
after constant calls for social unrest have gone unheard and ignored. The lawmakers have
ignored many issued that reflects poorly on the nation of “all men are created equal”. All men
cannot be created equal if Afro-American, Asian- America, Latin-American, LGBT, women and
other groups have to fight for equality in America. This trait is detrimental to American
Exceptionalism. As our notion of freedom is spread across foreign lands, America is considered
a land where many groups of people are free in their environment, free in their speech, free in
their defense of democracy. If America does not follow its core standard of a “free nation” or a
state where “all men are created equal”, we will seem hypocritical. There will be a loss of pride,
admiration, and acceptance from other nations. We will lose the people who help in the rise of
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the economy. In modern day America, there are still job positions that women are given less pay
than men. Sub-groups are still positions for equality; this strait is still relevant in America today.
I have been blessed to travel around the world. I have visited many countries and
experienced different cultures. I have appreciated the life of many people that I have encountered
and come to know. When I read more about Egalitarianism, it was upsetting to see how little
effort is needed to make a great impact on society. Christians are taught to love thy neighbor,
Muslims are taught to love the people of the world as they love their families, Buddhism teaches
kindness and oneness in unity, the Judaism is for the uplift of all God’s children. As you read
deeper into these religions, it all explains and shares the most common theme, the appreciation of
one another, the love to grow and learn from each other. Yet, there is still a divide in American
society, religion, government views, political affiliation and race and this makes the idea of
human dignity and the association with the middle class much harder to reach.
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Reference
Arneson, Richard, "Egalitarianism"., 2013,
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 Edition), Edward N.
Zalta (ed.), <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/egalitarianism/>.
Arneson, Richard J., 1989,
“Equality and Equal Opportunity for Welfare,” Philosophical Studies 56, pp. 77–
93, reprinted in Louis Pojman and Robert Westmoreland (eds.), Equality:
Selected Readings, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1997, pp. 229–241
Murray, Charles., American Exceptionalism:
An Experiment in History (2013 Edition) by the American Enterprise Institution
for Public Policy Research, pp. 7-37.
Egalitarianism- By Branch/Doctrine
The Basics of Philosophy”.
Http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_egalitarianism.html
Imm, Jeffery. November 2012
"Why equality is so important: the challenges of essentialism, superiority and
supremacism". http://www.realcourage.org/2012/11/equality-matters/
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Paine, Thomas "Death of American Exceptionalism Series" Part IV "
American Exceptionalism and the Politics of Foreign Policy".
https://www.theglobalist.com/american-exceptionalism-and-the-politics-of-
foreign-policy/
Christiano,Thomas. April 2007.
"Democracy As Equality"
http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/Courses/christianodemocracy.
pdf
Murray, Charles. July 2013.
"Is America still Exceptional?"https://www.aei.org/publication/is-america-still-
exceptional/
United States of America. Constitution. Art./Amend. XII, Sec. 3.
Wilentz, Sean. May 2016.
The Politicians and the Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics
Published By AdeBooks.
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