According to the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health the
definition of Egalitarianism is, “a multifaceted notion in social and political thought,” Common
forms of egalitarianism include economic egalitarianism, moral egalitarianism, legal
egalitarianism, democratic egalitarianism, political egalitarianism, gender egalitarianism and
opportunity egalitarianism. In modern democratic societies, the term “egalitarianism” is often
used to refer to a situation that favors (for any of a wide range of reasons), a greater degree of
equality of income and wealth across a population. Economic egalitarianism, (popular with
liberals throughout much of the 20th Century), has given way to a concern that not that everyone
be strictly equal in material possession, but rather that everyone be equal in having enough
material goods to effectively fulfill his or her native human capacities (Richard).
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word Egalitarianism is, “A belief in
human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs.” The word first
originated Latin then adopted by French and appeared in English late 19th century. The word has
seen a subtle shift in a meaning. Its earliest use was typically in reference to a belief in human
equality; it has since taken on the sense “a social philosophy that advocated the removal of
inequality among people.” (Mirriam Webster)
Egalitarianism is an inherently normative view, and more specifically, a view about
distributive justice that is, about the appropriate distribution of benefits and burdens. The account
of these and burdens varies from one egalitarian theory to another (Knight & Albertsen).
Dr. Charley Murray, a well-known and respected political scientist and scholar, says of
American egalitarianism, “It’s all about rhetoric, not concrete measures to equalize material well-
being. The traditional unconcern of most Americans about economic inequality is evidence of
American moral backwardness.” He goes on to say that egalitarianism today is associated with
the left and with policies that seek to equalize outcomes. The egalitarianism of nineteenth
century American had nothing to do with a equality of outcomes but with equality of human
dignity. One of the things that Europeans noticed first about America was the absence of the
paraphernalia of class (Murray).
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought in political philosophy. An egalitarian favors equality
of some sort: People should get the same, or be treated the same, or be treated as equals, in some
respect. An alternative view expands on this last-mentioned option: People should be treated as
equals, should treat one another as equals, should relate as equals, or enjoy and equality of social
statues of some sort. Egalitarian doctrines tend to rest on a background idea that all human
persons are equal in fundamental worth or moral status. So far as the Western European and
Anglo-American philosophical tradition is concerned, one significant source of this thought is
the Christian notion that god loves all human souls equally. Egalitarianism is a protean doctrine,
because there are several different types of equality, or ways in which people might be treated the
same, or might related as equals, that might be thought desirable. In modern democratic
societies, the term “egalitarian” is often used to refer to a position that favors, for any of wide
array of reasons, a greater degree of equality of income and wealth across persons than currently
exists. (Stanford Encyclopedia)
Our great, “exceptional” nation was founded on the trait of egalitarianism (as well as
other important traits, such as industriousness, religiosity and community life.) I chose
egalitarianism because this concept of equality transcends many facets of life, such as
economics, gender, race, opportunity, social status, and politics. Over the years since our
establishment as a nation, America has changed in many ways, and in some ways, American
egalitarianism has changed for the better, in some perhaps for the worse. I am interested in
exploring how the facets of egalitarianism have evolved and if these were to our benefit or not as
a nation.
Our Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal…” We were established on an egalitarian philosophy, and, it wasn’t just
Americans who thought our society was more economically equal than the rest of the world.
When Alexis de Tocqueville returned to France from his visit to America in the 1800’s, he
reported that, “nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions among
people.” (NYT) Because egalitarianism has many different meanings and implications, it has
impacted American exceptionalism in different ways over the years and continues to have an
impact on American exceptionalism. Some would debate that the traits we were founded on no
longer make us “exceptional,” and this must be explored.
Bibliography:
Charles A. Murray, American Exceptionalism: An Experiment in History, Values and capitalism.
(Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2013), 1.
Arneson Richard. Egalitarianism. In: Edward N. Zalta, editor. The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Fall 2002 2002. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2002/entries/egalitarianism
The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “egalitarianism (n.),” accessed December 1, 2019,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egalitarianism.
Knight, Carl and Albertsen, Andreas “Egalitarianism,” Oxford Bibliographies, 28 MARCH
2018, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756223/obo-
9780199756223-0155.xml.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, s.v. “Egalitarianism,” accessed December 2,
2019, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/#pagetopright.
